Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 993,197 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. reduced its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,173,039 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 993,197 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Crown Castle worth $197,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in 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 worth $113,465,000 after purchasing an additional 282,821 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,231,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,083,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 4.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,088,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $603,592,000 after buying an additional 203,442 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Price Performance

CCI opened at $97.78 on Monday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $42.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $90.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.83.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 221.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $118.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.75.

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.