Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases Shares of 26,903 Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,442,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 7.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,174,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $613,900,000 after purchasing an additional 348,296 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Crown Castle by 6.6% in the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,080 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 111.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 16.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,038,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CCI traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $106.51. The company had a trading volume of 596,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,867,123. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.20 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $99.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The firm has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.67 and a beta of 0.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.88%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is -69.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Crown Castle to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $109.00 to $107.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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 raised Crown Castle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Crown Castle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.59.

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.