Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $5.19 Million Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,191 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,580 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $5,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $5,672,451,000 after purchasing an additional 5,934,615 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,849,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,892,332,000 after buying an additional 3,321,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 228,007 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth $561,714,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position 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 in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $11,762,542.98. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 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 trade represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Crown Castle stock traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $101.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,019,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,875,430. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $44.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.50. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.20 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for 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%. Crown Castle's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -58.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus upgraded Crown Castle to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Crown Castle from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised Crown Castle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.71.

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.