Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Shares Sold by Milford Funds Ltd.

Milford Funds Ltd. decreased its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 33.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,213,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 596,494 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle makes up 1.5% of Milford Funds Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Milford Funds Ltd.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $91,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in Crown Castle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,931 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 10.9% in the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Crown Castle stock opened at $75.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.52. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.72 and a 1 year high of $104.61.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 215.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 1,500 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total value of $113,835.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,113 shares in the company, valued at $388,025.57. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $88.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.13.

Crown Castle Profile

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company’s assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.