Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Shares Bought by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 142,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 10,234 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $14,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CCI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at about $561,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Crown Castle by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,499,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,672,451,000 after buying an additional 5,934,615 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Crown Castle by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,849,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,892,332,000 after buying an additional 3,321,249 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Crown Castle by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,793,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $525,849,000 after buying an additional 1,573,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at about $95,167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:CCI traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,209,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,935,153. The company has a market capitalization of $44.68 billion, a PE ratio of -9.54, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.08. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.20 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 164.40% and a negative net margin of 78.12%. The business's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -39.50%.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,944.80. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. New Street Research raised shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Argus raised shares of Crown Castle to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crown Castle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.06.

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.