Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 31.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,343 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 18,176 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $9,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CCI. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Crown Castle by 24.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 157,895 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,476,000 after buying an additional 31,319 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 4,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3,111.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 7.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,059,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $125,665,000 after purchasing an additional 77,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 2,706.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 105,563 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,523,000 after purchasing an additional 101,801 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of Crown Castle stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $106.69. 1,977,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,611,792. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.48 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $109.83 and a 200-day moving average of $106.98.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently 221.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.