Natixis Advisors LLC Has $50.63 Million Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle by 4.4% to 524,738 shares worth $50.63 million, and institutional investors now own about 90.77% of the company.
• Crown Castle declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 (annualized $4.25) yielding 4.7% with an ex-dividend date of March 13, but the dividend payout ratio is an unusually high 420.79%.
• Several analysts have trimmed price targets and ratings recently (Scotiabank, Barclays, Jefferies among them), yet consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $100.13 versus the recent share price near $89.69.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 524,738 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 22,216 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Crown Castle worth $50,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership raised its position in Crown Castle by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership now owns 103,407 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,950,000 after purchasing an additional 21,194 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Crown Castle by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 70,963 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,847,000 after buying an additional 9,552 shares during the last quarter. Country Club Bank increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 70,778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,808,000 after buying an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 6.1% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,419,034 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $233,413,000 after acquiring an additional 138,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 656,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $63,374,000 after acquiring an additional 21,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Crown Castle from $101.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. New Street Research downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.13.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In related news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $401,481.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at $2,174,300.22. This trade represents a 15.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $262,470.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at $507,442. The trade was a 34.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Crown Castle stock opened at $89.69 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.21. The stock has a market cap of $39.11 billion, a PE ratio of 88.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.96. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.01 and a 12 month high of $115.76.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is 420.79%.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company's assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.

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