Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 5,149.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 113,295 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $10,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,608 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,243,722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $113,465,000 after buying an additional 282,821 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at $1,231,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth about $3,083,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,766 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of Crown Castle stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $100.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,716,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,880,766. The firm has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a PE ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 0.93. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.25.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -69.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $96.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Crown Castle from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $85.00 to $105.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.47.

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.