Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Stock: University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Increases Stake

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 964.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 5,757 shares during the quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CCI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,326,154,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,023,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,743,562,000 after purchasing an additional 211,633 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 15.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,463,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,094,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828,065 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,325,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $514,320,000 after purchasing an additional 144,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at approximately $456,897,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CCI opened at $88.69 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.27. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.32 and a 52 week high of $95.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.68, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $995.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.12% and a negative return on equity of 42.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is presently 223.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Crown Castle to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Crown Castle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Crown Castle from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 target price on Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.27.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle Inc (NYSE: CCI) owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure in the United States. Its portfolio includes cell towers and small-cell networks that help wireless carriers expand coverage and capacity.

The company leases space on its infrastructure to wireless carriers and other customers, allowing multiple users to deploy communications equipment on shared sites. Crown Castle has also operated fiber infrastructure and related services, which support small-cell networks and other connectivity needs.

Founded in 1994, Crown Castle serves communities across the United States.