Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Makes New $4.33 Million Investment in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired 41,532 shares of Crown Castle Inc., valued at approximately $4.33 million, in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group and Norges Bank, have also increased their stakes in Crown Castle, with institutional ownership now at 90.77%.
• Crown Castle recently reported a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share and had a negative net margin of 85.54%, indicating ongoing financial challenges.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 41,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Crown Castle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 62.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 347 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 95.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Thursday. New Street Research upgraded Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.94.

Crown Castle Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded down $2.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $111.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,419,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,744,282. The business's 50 day moving average price is $102.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.56. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $48.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.88.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. 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 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $1.0625 dividend. 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 3.81%. Crown Castle's payout ratio is currently -39.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $689,944.80. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total value of $2,127,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,571 shares in the company, valued at $11,762,542.98. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.