Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,077 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,351 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 62.1% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 347 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CCI. New Street Research upgraded Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.18.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of Crown Castle stock traded down $2.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $104.97. 4,962,337 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,887,699. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.84, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Crown Castle's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -39.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crown Castle news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,183,563.36. The trade was a 28.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. 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.