Sigma Planning Corp Decreases Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 63.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,214 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,340 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 62.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 347 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CCI traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.19. 5,210,610 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,940,733. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 78.12% and a negative return on equity of 164.40%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -39.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $850,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $689,944.80. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CCI. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. New Street Research upgraded Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.38.

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.