Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Buys 12,893 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,570 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,893 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $13,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CCI. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 14.2% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 6.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the second quarter valued at $641,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Crown Castle by 9.3% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 102,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,578,000 after purchasing an additional 8,742 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI opened at $87.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $38.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.57, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.80. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.01 and a 52-week high of $115.76.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is currently 420.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on CCI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $101.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $112.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.13.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $262,470.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at $507,442. This represents a 34.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $401,481.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,174,300.22. This represents a 15.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company’s assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.