Crown Castle International Corp (CCI) will raise its quarterly dividend by 6.7 percent to $1.20 per share in 2019. This marks the 5th consecutive annual dividend increase by the REIT.

The next quarterly dividend will be payable on December 31, 2019 to common stockholders of record at the close of business on December 13, 2019. A new annual rate of $4.80 per share yields 3.3% at a stock price of $144.

"The strong third quarter results reflect our ability to leverage our leadership position in the U.S. across towers, small cells and fiber solutions to generate attractive growth," stated Dan Schlanger, Crown Castle's Chief Financial Officer.  "As we focus on closing out another successful year of growth in 2019 and look toward 2020, we are excited about the positive growth trends driving demand for our tower and fiber assets.  During the last five years, and inclusive of the dividend increase we are announcing today, we have increased our dividend by a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 8%.  Looking forward, we believe we are in a great position to deliver on our annual dividend growth target of 7% to 8% while at the same time making significant investments in our business that we believe will generate attractive long-term returns and support future growth."

Crown Castle International Corp. is a real estate investment trust (REIT), which owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure (multitenant communications real estate). The Company's segments include towers and small cells. The small cells segment also offers fiber-based solutions. Crown Castle has operations in the United States and Puerto Rico.