Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 28,474 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 55.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 28,474 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $2,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Crown Castle by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 677 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its position in Crown Castle by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Crown Castle by 0.5% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Crown Castle by 2.0% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 5,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CCI traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,963,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,800,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.67. The company has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.72 and a 52 week high of $119.50.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92). Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is 195.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.53.

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.