Toronto Dominion Bank Grows Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 263,249 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 16,873 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.06% of Crown Castle worth $23,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CCI. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,302 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at about $259,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 247,572 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $22,470,000 after purchasing an additional 43,439 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of CCI traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,068,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,885,969. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.51 and a beta of 0.93. 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 results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -39.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CCI shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America started coverage on Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Crown Castle from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crown Castle news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total value of $2,127,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,762,542.98. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.