MFG Wealth Management Inc. Invests $1.78 Million in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

MFG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,073 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,499,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,672,451,000 after acquiring an additional 5,934,615 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 3,321,249 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,333,158 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,119,225,000 after purchasing an additional 228,007 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth about $561,714,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,144,359 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $557,662,000 after purchasing an additional 58,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Crown Castle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. New Street Research raised shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded Crown Castle to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crown Castle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.71.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of Crown Castle stock traded down $1.39 during trading on Thursday, hitting $100.43. 4,204,206 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,947,963. The stock has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.33, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.20 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm's fifty day moving average is $101.50 and its 200-day moving average is $96.70.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently -39.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crown Castle news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $689,944.80. The trade was a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $850,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.