Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Purchases 35,749 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 96,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,749 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle comprises about 3.4% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $11,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverwater Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $401,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 13,271.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 973,185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,449,000 after purchasing an additional 965,907 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 1.9% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 63,819 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Crown Castle by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 10,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 35,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,243,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $111.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 446,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,631,183. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.02 and a 200-day moving average of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $48.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25 and a beta of 0.85. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.49 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. Crown Castle’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 221.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup set a $128.00 price target on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.47.

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.