Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,891,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 23.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,528,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,079,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 433.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,968,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $470,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225,460 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $95,167,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,875,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,476,470,000 after acquiring an additional 747,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 9,471.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 747,590 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 739,779 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI opened at $104.90 on Wednesday. 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 $45.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.21. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -69.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $96.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.29.

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.