Westpac Banking Corp Sells 3,525 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp has reduced its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. by 16.0%, now owning 18,496 shares valued at approximately $1.93 million.
• Despite Westpac's reduction, several institutional investors, including CWA Asset Management and Allspring Global Investments, have increased their stakes in Crown Castle during the same period.
• Crown Castle reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, but also experienced a 4.2% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,525 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CCI. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,357 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,894,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.24.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI stock traded up $0.56 on Friday, hitting $101.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,849,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,616,050. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.20 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The stock's 50-day moving average is $103.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.18. The firm has a market cap of $44.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.89.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -39.83%.

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.