PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 11,351 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in Crown Castle Inc. by 10.8%, resulting in 94,226 shares valued at approximately $9.82 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Crown Castle's recent earnings report indicated earnings per share of $1.02, surpassing the estimate of $1.00, despite a 4.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.0% and a negative payout ratio of -39.83%.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,226 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,351 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $9,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 3.0% in the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Crown Castle by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 1.8% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,357 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,894,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Crown Castle stock traded up $0.92 on Thursday, hitting $106.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,285,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,310,148. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $103.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.55. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $46.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.95, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 619.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -39.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CCI shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.24.

About Crown Castle

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.