NBC Securities Inc. Purchases 4,313 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 107,825.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 4,313 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Norges Bank bought a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $561,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 10.5% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 5,934,615 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,849,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,892,332,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321,249 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 37.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,573,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at $95,167,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE CCI traded down $1.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,805,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,898,981. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $43.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day moving average is $101.17 and its 200-day moving average is $97.14.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Crown Castle's payout ratio is -39.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus raised shares of Crown Castle to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $850,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,762,542.98. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Crown Castle Company Profile

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.