National Pension Service Raises Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,123,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 38,531 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.26% of Crown Castle worth $101,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 buying an additional 3,371,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 433.8% during the 3rd 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 period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 3.7% in the 3rd 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. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Crown Castle by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,166,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $375,610,000 after acquiring an additional 642,010 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in Crown Castle by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 850,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $100,836,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $94.13. The company had a trading volume of 3,198,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,822,608. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.38 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.65%. Crown Castle's payout ratio is 221.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $117.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities began coverage on Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Crown Castle from $118.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Crown Castle from $128.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Crown Castle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.75.

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.