Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Sells 1,169 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,169 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 108.5% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Crown Castle from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Argus downgraded Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Crown Castle from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.73.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of Crown Castle stock traded up $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.20. The stock had a trading volume of 5,055,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,662,430. The firm has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.72 and a 12 month high of $131.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $104.88 and its 200 day moving average is $105.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.73.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92). The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 195.63%.

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.