Freedom Investment Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 331 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 107.9% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Crown Castle by 159.0% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCI opened at $106.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.48 and a 200 day moving average of $107.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company has a market capitalization of $46.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68 and a beta of 0.86. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.48 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.87.

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.