Vantage Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle makes up about 1.2% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $14,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 159.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 163.9% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 107.9% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CCI opened at $104.10 on Tuesday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.48 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.92 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $113.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.30.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.87.

About Crown Castle

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.