Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Crown Castle Inc. by 13.9%, owning 213,047 shares valued at approximately $22.21 million after selling 34,525 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors have been active, with Wellington Management increasing its stake by 18.9% and Norges Bank purchasing a new stake worth $561.71 million as of the fourth quarter.
• Crown Castle recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.0625, with a yield of 3.81%, although it has a notably high negative dividend payout ratio of -39.50%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,047 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 34,525 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $22,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 18.9% during the fourth 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 1.9% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 228,007 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth about $561,714,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 1.0% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 58,903 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in 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 worth $525,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CCI traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.61. The stock had a trading volume of 609,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,227,978. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $47.29 billion, a PE ratio of -10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -39.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.18.

Insider Activity at Crown Castle

In related news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,762,542.98. This trade represents a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. This trade represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.