The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 52,097 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,085,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 52,097 shares during the period. Crown Castle comprises approximately 0.6% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $721,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Capital Square LLC increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 16,414 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Crown Castle by 5.9% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 23,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,772,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Crown Castle by 8.6% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at $167,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,088,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $603,592,000 after buying an additional 203,442 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE:CCI opened at $106.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $110.32 and a 200 day moving average of $106.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.48 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. Crown Castle’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 221.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CCI shares. Citigroup set a $128.00 price objective on Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.87.

Crown Castle Company 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.