Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $2.12 Million Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $2,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 95.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Up 0.6%

CCI stock opened at $98.96 on Tuesday. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.20 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The stock has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $101.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.75.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -39.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CCI. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Crown Castle to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crown Castle from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.71.

Insider Activity

In other Crown Castle news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $384,192.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $689,944.80. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.