Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 6,341,150 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its ownership of Crown Castle Inc. by 10.1%, acquiring an additional 6,341,150 shares, bringing its total to 68,840,605 shares, valued at approximately $7.17 billion.
• Crown Castle reported quarterly earnings of $1.02 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.00, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 4.2%, with total revenue of $1.06 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, resulting in a 4.0% dividend yield, with the payment scheduled for September 30.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,840,605 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,341,150 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 15.81% of Crown Castle worth $7,175,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 717.1% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle in the first quarter valued at $10,395,000. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its position in Crown Castle by 26.9% in the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 5,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in Crown Castle by 309.3% in the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 7,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its position in Crown Castle by 8.4% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 9,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE CCI opened at $105.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.13 and a 200-day moving average of $99.55. The stock has a market cap of $45.88 billion, a PE ratio of -9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.89. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.20 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 619.62%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -39.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CCI shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. New Street Research raised shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.18.

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.

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