Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 33,459 Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 33,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,037,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 13.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 0.6% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 41,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,980,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at about $2,922,000. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 9.3% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 60,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 2,706.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 105,563 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,523,000 after purchasing an additional 101,801 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Crown Castle stock opened at $106.61 on Friday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $92.77 and its 200-day moving average is $101.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $46.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81 and a beta of 0.89.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is -69.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CCI shares. Bank of America started coverage on Crown Castle in a report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on Crown Castle in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James upgraded Crown Castle from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Crown Castle from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.00.

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.