Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 26,157 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 67.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 26,157 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,294 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,857 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 4,807 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of CCI stock traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $98.29. 2,299,843 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,911,401. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $42.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $101.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.87.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's payout ratio is currently -39.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 research note on Friday, March 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Crown Castle from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crown Castle news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,571 shares in the company, valued at $11,762,542.98. This represents a 15.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company'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 value of $850,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,528 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Crown Castle 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.