NFJ Investment Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 321,686 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 13,537 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.07% of Crown Castle worth $29,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,475 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,285 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Crown Castle to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Crown Castle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Crown Castle from $109.00 to $107.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.88.

Crown Castle Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Crown Castle stock traded down $1.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $102.40. The stock had a trading volume of 797,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,880,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $44.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31 and a beta of 0.93. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $97.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.57.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle's payout ratio is currently -69.71%.

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.