Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 228,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,634 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $20,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CCI. Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 5,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Crown Castle by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,849,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,892,332,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321,249 shares during the last quarter. Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth about $3,221,000. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 367.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 117,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,579,000 after purchasing an additional 29,973 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $96.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on Crown Castle in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.00.

Crown Castle Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CCI opened at $100.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78 and a beta of 0.93. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.20 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.98.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -69.71%.

Crown Castle Company 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.