B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 35.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,641 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $2,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 107.9% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI stock opened at $97.11 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $92.48 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $42.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44 and a beta of 0.86.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. Crown Castle’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 221.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.00.

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.