Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.89 Million Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 53.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,151 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,359 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the first quarter worth $29,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 62.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 95.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $850,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $384,192.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $689,944.80. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. New Street Research upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Crown Castle from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $105.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.71.

Crown Castle Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CCI stock traded down $1.74 on Friday, reaching $98.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,299,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,911,401. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.01 and a 200-day moving average of $96.87. The stock has a market cap of $42.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -39.50%.

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.