Stephens Inc. AR Sells 30,624 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 40.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,570 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 30,624 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $4,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CCI. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CCI. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Crown Castle from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.06.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.4%

Crown Castle stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.70. 4,088,179 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,937,149. The company has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a PE ratio of -9.74, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $101.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.65. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 164.40% and a negative net margin of 78.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -39.50%.

Insider Activity at Crown Castle

In related news, 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the company'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 directly owned 110,571 shares in the company, valued at $11,762,542.98. This trade represents a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.