Allianz SE Increases Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Allianz SE grew its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 471.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,366 shares during the period. Allianz SE’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $2,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CCI. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 241,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 5.6% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3.4% during the third quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 80,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,772,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 1.1% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 11,021 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 4.0% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 873,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $84,247,000 after buying an additional 33,831 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of Crown Castle stock opened at $89.54 on Friday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.01 and a 52 week high of $115.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.96.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 420.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCI has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $101.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.02.

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.