Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Shares Purchased by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 103.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,322 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $3,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 154.8% in the third quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE:CCI traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.21. The stock had a trading volume of 3,308,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,847,121. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.73. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.72 and a 1-year high of $123.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.33.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92). The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 20.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is currently 195.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CCI shares. Argus downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.29.

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.