Bard Financial Services Inc. Cuts Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 159.0% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 107.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 3,672.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $89.12. 1,222,797 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,898,710. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.51 and a 200 day moving average of $106.30. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.65 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.87.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its 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 company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Crown Castle’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is 221.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CCI. Barclays increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup set a $128.00 price target on Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crown Castle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.93.

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.