Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Cuts Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,347 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $8,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle in the first quarter worth $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Crown Castle by 159.0% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 163.9% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 107.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CCI. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.87.

Crown Castle Price Performance

NYSE CCI opened at $105.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.54 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $113.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.48 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 221.99%.

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.