Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,788 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Crown Castle by 2,316.5% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 84,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,933,000 after acquiring an additional 80,916 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $106,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 51,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Finally, Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 19,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Price Performance

NYSE:CCI opened at $110.68 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $48.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.54. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $86.49 and a one year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 195.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.47.

Crown Castle 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.