Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Crown Castle by 0.6% in Q4 to 69,769,393 shares (about 16.02% ownership), valuing the position at roughly $6.2 billion.
• Crown Castle beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.02 vs. $0.47; revenue $1.01B vs. $995M) and announced a ~ $1 billion buyback plus ~$65 million of annualized cost cuts to support shareholder returns.
• Despite the beat, management reiterated FY2026 guidance that includes an expected net loss ($640M–$920M) and flagged DISH-related headwinds as a material risk; the stock yields 4.9% but carries a high payout ratio (~175.6%), raising sustainability concerns.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,769,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 386,733 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 16.02% of Crown Castle worth $6,200,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,728,541 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,096,587,000 after buying an additional 266,963 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,437,685 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $621,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,291 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 3.0% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,185,915 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $596,876,000 after acquiring an additional 177,896 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,621,490 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $542,418,000 after purchasing an additional 232,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,534,066 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $568,515,000 after buying an additional 117,904 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Crown Castle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Crown Castle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 FFO, AFFO and revenue modestly beat estimates, showing resilience in cash flow and leasing trends despite challenges. Crown Castle (CCI) Q1 FFO and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced a ~ $1B buyback plan and ~$65M of annualized cost reductions, which support shareholder returns and margin improvement. Crown Castle reiterates 2026 outlook with ~$1B buyback plan
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are showing support: Bernstein reaffirmed a Buy and Raymond James raised its price target (to $108, strong‑buy), providing potential upside from upgrades. Bernstein Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Crown Castle (CCI) Raymond James adjusts Crown Castle price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Company is progressing with strategic asset sales and refocusing on the tower business—moves that could reshape growth profile but take time to realize value. How Investors May Respond To Crown Castle
• Negative Sentiment: Management reiterated FY 2026 guidance that includes an expected net loss ($640M–$920M), keeping near‑term earnings visibility weak and likely pressuring valuation multiples. How Investors May Respond To Crown Castle
• Negative Sentiment: DISH Network–related headwinds remain a material risk to tower leasing and long‑term growth, and analysts continue to flag tower‑growth concerns despite the quarter's beat. Crown Castle Q1 AFFO & Sales Beat Estimates Despite DISH Headwinds Crown Castle earnings on deck as tower growth concerns linger

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $101.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.34.

Crown Castle Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE CCI opened at $86.35 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $37.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $86.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.46. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $115.76.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.42 million. Crown Castle had a net margin of 25.13% and a negative return on equity of 64.64%. Crown Castle's revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Crown Castle has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.380-4.490 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crown Castle news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $262,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at $507,442. This represents a 34.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $401,481.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,174,300.22. This trade represents a 15.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Crown Castle Company Profile

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company's assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CCI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.