Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Sells 656 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 32.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 656 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at $34,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CCI shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Crown Castle from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.47.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE:CCI opened at $110.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.49 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59 and a beta of 0.85.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 195.63%.

About Crown Castle

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.