Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 275.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,717 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 92,211 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $14,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in Crown Castle by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 2.4% during the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,869 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC raised its position in Crown Castle by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,439 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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 investment 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 company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.87.

Crown Castle Price Performance

CCI stock traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.80. 2,293,374 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,270,398. 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 cap of $45.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.81 and a beta of 0.86. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.48 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $112.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.53.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

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.