Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stake in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in Crown Castle by 27.7% in the first quarter, selling 767,073 shares and ending with about 1.99 million shares worth $162.5 million.
• Crown Castle reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.02 versus the $0.47 estimate and revenue of $1.01 billion, though revenue still fell 4.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, implying an annualized payout of $4.25 and a yield of about 5.1%, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $98.52.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,998,848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 767,073 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.46% of Crown Castle worth $162,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CCI. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Crown Castle in the 1st quarter worth about $1,805,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 110.3% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 32,191 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 16,881 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 12.4% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 38,703 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the period. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Crown Castle by 33.6% during the first quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Trading Down 0.1%

CCI opened at $82.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.31. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $115.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.41 million. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 64.64% and a net margin of 25.13%.The company's revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Crown Castle has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.380-4.490 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Crown Castle's payout ratio is presently 175.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CCI. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Crown Castle from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Crown Castle from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Crown Castle from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.52.

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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