Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Crown Castle Inc. by 7.5%, selling 10,505 shares and holding a total of 129,969 shares valued at approximately $13.5 million.
• Research analysts have upgraded Crown Castle's rating with several targeting a price range between $121.00 and $127.00, indicating a generally positive sentiment towards the stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, which represents a 4.2% dividend yield based on an annualized payout of $4.25.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 129,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 10,505 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $13,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CCI. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth about $2,442,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth about $424,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 5,149.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 115,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,482,000 after acquiring an additional 113,295 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 164,322 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,914,000 after acquiring an additional 50,874 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CCI shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Crown Castle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.41.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.2%

CCI traded down $0.1680 on Thursday, reaching $102.6920. 816,912 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,227,838. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.45. The company has a market cap of $44.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.89.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 619.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Crown Castle has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.140-4.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is -39.83%.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service - bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.