Zacks Investment Management Sells 38,858 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Zacks Investment Management cut its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,490 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 38,858 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management owned approximately 0.06% of Crown Castle worth $25,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CCI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at about $561,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,499,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,672,451,000 after purchasing an additional 5,934,615 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,849,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,892,332,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,249 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,793,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $525,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,167,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI traded up $2.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $104.65. 470,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,878,783. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14 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 company's 50 day moving average is $97.97 and its 200 day moving average is $98.51.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle's payout ratio is currently -69.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.