Sigma Planning Corp Reduces Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 54.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,843 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Crown Castle by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 204,201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Crown Castle by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 49,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,745,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 15,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE CCI opened at $95.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.73. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.72 and a 52 week high of $125.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.73.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.92). Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 195.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.29.

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.