London Co. of Virginia Cuts Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

London Co. of Virginia lessened its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,011,614 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 253,786 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle comprises 1.5% of London Co. of Virginia's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. London Co. of Virginia owned approximately 0.69% of Crown Castle worth $273,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. New Street Research upgraded Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Crown Castle from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,944.80. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $850,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $100.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,455,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,880,809. The company has a 50 day moving average of $101.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.71. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.20 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -58.18%.

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.