Freedom Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 413 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 120.0% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,608 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,243,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,465,000 after buying an additional 282,821 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,231,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,083,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Crown Castle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,139,000 after acquiring an additional 4,772 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:CCI opened at $103.51 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CCI shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $109.00 to $107.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $127.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $128.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.88.

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.