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CCICrown Castle · Insider ownership research

Crown Castle insiders sold $4.0M in the past 12 months. How much of their stake is that?

About 13% overall. As a group they ended with more shares than they started with. The biggest individual seller, Daniel Schlanger, gave up 31% of starting holdings.

Updated Oct 8, 2026 from SEC filings · covers Oct 9, 2025 to Oct 8, 2026
How this comparesMore of their stake sold than at 242 of the 311 other companies we can measure (#70 of 312)See ranking
1
buyer among officers and directors (1 trade), past 12 months
0%
of sales were under disclosed trading plans, past 12 months
4 of 18
officers and directors sold shares, past 12 months
Recent activity · past 30 days, Sep 9, 2026 to Oct 8, 2026
Sep 15, 2026Christian Hillabrant had 12K shares ($902K) withheld by the company for taxes (not a market sale). That is 38% of the total stake held that day. 32K shares came in from vesting or option exercises the same day, so the holding rose by 20K net.
WhoSharesPrice% of total stakeTotal stake afterTrade dateFiled
Christian Hillabrant
President and CEO, Director
12,160$74.1738%20KSep 15, 2026Sep 17, 2026

"% of total stake" is the shares in this event against all the vested shares the person held that day, across every share class and holding entity, after that day's vesting. "n/a" means the person's holdings don't reconcile, or the row is a purchase. "Holdings record incomplete" means more shares were sold than the filings show the person held that day, so a percentage would be wrong.

Is this normal? In line with the past 5 years. 4 insiders sold; the average is 4 a year. Year by year
Latest filing: Filed Sep 17 for a tax withholding on Sep 15. Christian Hillabrant had 12K shares withheld by the company for taxes. Filing
36 SEC ownership filings in the period · See the evidence

What stands out

Daniel Schlanger sold 31% of vested holdings: 30K shares for $2.9M, none under a disclosed plan.Largest sale, Oct 24, 2025
Kevin Stephens bought 820 shares for $74K, first on May 5, 2026.Purchase, May 5, 2026

Percentages cover 14 of 18 officers and directors. 4 are left out

i
Left out: Edward Adams Jr. and Christopher Levendos (most of their shares vested during the period, so a percentage would mislead); Christian Hillabrant and Timothy Grace (held no vested shares at the start).
Disclosed company stock is not an insider's whole wealth.

Who sold, and how much of their stake

Officers and directors, past 12 months. Each bar is the insider's vested stake at the start of the period (Oct 8, 2025). The gold part is what they sold.

SoldRest of starting stakeAdded during the period
Daniel Schlanger
EVP and CTO
31% · $2.9MNo plan disclosed
Edward Adams Jr.
EVP and General Counsel
Sold 12% of the shares held or received (after tax withholding) during the period†. No bar against the starting stake: most of these shares arrived during the period.
$401KNo plan disclosed
Robert Collins
Vice President and Controller
61% · $376KNo plan disclosed
Christopher Levendos
EVP & COO - Fiber
Sold 10% of the shares held or received (after tax withholding) during the period†. No bar against the starting stake: most of these shares arrived during the period.
$250KNo plan disclosed
Amounts, filings and trading plans for each seller

Selling by month

Officers and directors, Oct 2025 to Oct 2026. Each sale is counted once: under a disclosed plan, else to cover taxes, else no plan disclosed.

Disclosed planTo cover taxesNo plan disclosed
Oct 2025: $3.0M no plan disclosed$3.0MOctNovDecJanFeb 2026: $814K no plan disclosedFebMarAprMayJunJulAug 2026: $114K no plan disclosedAugSepOct

Common questions

Is the Crown Castle CEO selling stock?

No. Christian Hillabrant reported no open-market sales in the past 12 months.

Why are Crown Castle insiders selling?

Filings rarely give a reason, and we don't guess at one. What they show is how the sales were made: 0% of sales by value ran under 10b5-1 trading plans disclosed in the filings and 100% had no disclosed plan. A trading plan schedules sales in advance.

Are any Crown Castle insiders buying?

Yes. 1 officer or director reported 1 purchase in the past 12 months (Form 4 code P, which includes private purchases).

How much of their stake did Crown Castle insiders sell?

About 13% overall. As a group they ended with more shares than they started with. The biggest individual seller, Daniel Schlanger, gave up 31% of starting holdings. That covers the 12 months to Oct 8, 2026 and counts vested shares reported on SEC Forms 3, 4 and 5, which is not an insider's whole wealth.

The evidence

Who sold4 officers and directors: amount, % of holdings, trading plan
Who soldAmount% of holdingsTrading plan
Daniel Schlanger
EVP and CTO
$2.9M
30K shares
31%No plan disclosed
Edward Adams Jr.
EVP and General Counsel
$401K
4.7K shares
12%†
i
† Most of the shares Edward Adams Jr. sold arrived during the period, so this is shares sold as a share of the 22K held at the start plus the 27K received, less 9.1K withheld by the company for taxes.
No plan disclosed
Robert Collins
Vice President and Controller
$376K
4.5K shares
61%No plan disclosed
Christopher Levendos
EVP & COO - Fiber
$250K
2.9K shares
10%†
i
† Most of the shares Christopher Levendos sold arrived during the period, so this is shares sold as a share of the 17K held at the start plus the 16K received, less 4.5K withheld by the company for taxes.
No plan disclosed
The full ownership picture18 of 18 insiders fully reconciled · 17 officers and directors

Vested shares across all share classes, held directly and through trusts, LLCs and family members, as reported on SEC Forms 3, 4 and 5. Unvested awards and options are never counted as owned shares.

InsiderHeld Oct 8, 2025SoldHeld Oct 8, 2026Still held
Daniel Schlanger
i
Additional holdings last reported more than 3 years ago are shown separately and excluded from totals.
EVP and CTO
97K−30K67K69%
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Daniel Schlanger
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
71K → 71Kunvested awards, start → end
  • Additional holdings last reported more than 3 years ago are shown separately and excluded from totals.
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value95,57165,571
401(K) PlanCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value1,1581,158

Additional holdings last reported Feb 19, 2019, not confirmed since: 5,306 shares. Not included in any total or percentage on this page.

Robert Bartolo
Director
43K047Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Robert Bartolo
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value42,79247,382
Anthony Melone
Director
36K035Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Anthony Melone
0shares vested or exercised
−3.4Kgifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock $0.01 Par Value36,17535,473
Edward Adams Jr.
EVP and General Counsel
22K−4.7K35Knot meaningful
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Edward Adams Jr.
+13Kshares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−9.1Kwithheld by the company for taxes
25K → 26Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value20,52833,971
401(K) PlanCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value1,0621,062
Kevin Stephens
Director
20K024Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Kevin Stephens
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value20,44123,934
Christopher Levendos
EVP & COO - Fiber
17K−2.9K26Knot meaningful
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Christopher Levendos
+16Kshares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−4.5Kwithheld by the company for taxes
34K → 18Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
401(K) PlanCommon Stock $0.01 Par Value540540
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value16,88325,117
Andrea Goldsmith
i
Additional holdings last reported more than 3 years ago are shown separately and excluded from totals.
Director
13K016Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Andrea Goldsmith
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
  • Additional holdings last reported more than 3 years ago are shown separately and excluded from totals.
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value12,91615,589

Additional holdings last reported Feb 21, 2019, not confirmed since: 2,977 shares. Not included in any total or percentage on this page.

Matthew Thornton III
Director
12K015Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Matthew Thornton III
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value12,11914,792
Catherine Piche
i
Minor difference of 48 shares. Difference is under 0.5% of holdings. New Form 3 filed 2024-10-29; earlier filings set aside.
EVP & COO-Towers
10K021Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Catherine Piche
+11Kshares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−5.3Kwithheld by the company for taxes
27K → 33Kunvested awards, start → end
  • New Form 3 filed 2024-10-29; earlier filings set aside.
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value10,00020,505
401(K) PlanCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value048

Reconciliation: minor difference of 48 shares. Difference is under 0.5% of holdings.

Tammy Jones
Director
9.4K012Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Tammy Jones
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value9,40412,077
Robert Collins
i
Minor difference of 181 shares. Small increase from a 401(k) plan. Small increase from a 401(k) plan.
Vice President and Controller
7.3K−4.5K6.2K84%
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Robert Collins
+3.4Kshares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−1.4Kwithheld by the company for taxes
6.4K → 7.9Kunvested awards, start → end
  • Small increase from a 401(k) plan. Filing
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value6,4655,113
401(K) PlanCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value8771,058

Reconciliation: minor difference of 181 shares. Small increase from a 401(k) plan.

Kevin Kabat
Director
6.5K09.1Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Kevin Kabat
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value6,4769,149
Jason Genrich
Director
5.6K06.6Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Jason Genrich
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock $0.01 Par Value55
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value5,5516,576
Sunit Patel
EVP & Chief Financial Officer
3K013Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Sunit Patel
+15Kshares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−5.2Kwithheld by the company for taxes
46K → 51Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock $0.01 Par Value4242
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value2,91913,050
Katherine Motlagh
Director
2.5K05.2Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Katherine Motlagh
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock $0.01 Par Value2,5105,183
Kristoffer Hinson
i
Started reporting during the period; starting holdings are from the Form 3.
EVP and CCO
5000500no sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Kristoffer Hinson
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
11K → 22Kunvested awards, start → end
  • Started reporting during the period; starting holdings are from the Form 3.
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
401(K) PlanCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value500500
Christian Hillabrant
President and CEO, Director
0020Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Christian Hillabrant
+32Kshares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−12Kwithheld by the company for taxes
95K → 111Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 8, 2025Oct 8, 2026
DirectCommon Stock, $0.01 Par Value019,646

18 of 18 insiders fully reconciled: starting holdings plus reported transactions match ending holdings (16 exactly, 2 with a minor or footnoted difference). Percentages cover 14 of 18 officers and directors. Left out: Edward Adams Jr. and Christopher Levendos (most of their shares vested during the period, so a percentage would mislead); Christian Hillabrant and Timothy Grace (held no vested shares at the start). "Still held" compares ending with starting vested shares; a plus sign means the holding grew.

What explains the selling$4.0M of sales by plan status, purpose, seller and month

Officer and director open-market sales: $4.0M across 42,098 shares. Plan status and stated purpose are separate questions, and a sale can have both.

By plan status

No plan disclosed · $4.0M

Sales with no 10b5-1 plan and no tax reference in the filing. $2.9M of it is Daniel Schlanger. No plan disclosed is a statement about the filing, not about why the sale happened. Largest such sale: Daniel Schlanger, Oct 24, 2025

Taxes

37,769 shares ($3.2M) were withheld by the company for taxes, which isn't a market sale.

Purchases · 1 buyer (1 trade)

1 officer or director bought shares in this period, in 1 trade(Form 4 code P). Across all their filings on record there are 19 purchase trades.

SellerShares soldProceedsUnder a disclosed planShare of totalSales dates
Daniel Schlanger
EVP and CTO
30K$2.9M0%74%Oct 24, 2025 to Oct 24, 2025
Edward Adams Jr.
EVP and General Counsel
4.7K$401K0%10%Feb 25, 2026 to Feb 25, 2026
Robert Collins
Vice President and Controller
4.5K$376K0%9%Feb 27, 2026 to Aug 7, 2026
Christopher Levendos
EVP & COO - Fiber
2.9K$250K0%6%Oct 28, 2025 to Feb 6, 2026

Sales by month

MonthSale proceedsDisclosed planTo cover taxesNo plan disclosed
Oct 2025$3.0M$0$0$3.0M
Nov 2025$0$0$0$0
Dec 2025$0$0$0$0
Jan 2026$0$0$0$0
Feb 2026$814K$0$0$814K
Mar 2026$0$0$0$0
Apr 2026$0$0$0$0
May 2026$0$0$0$0
Jun 2026$0$0$0$0
Jul 2026$0$0$0$0
Aug 2026$114K$0$0$114K
Sep 2026$0$0$0$0
Oct 2026$0$0$0$0
Is this normal? Selling year by year5 earlier years to compare with

In line with the past 5 years. 4 insiders sold; the average is 4 a year.

12 months endingShares soldInsiders who soldProceeds
Oct 8, 2026
Latest 12 months
42K4$4.0M
Oct 8, 2025
1 year earlier
51K4$5.4M
Oct 8, 2024
2 years earlier
16K3$1.7M
Oct 9, 2023
3 years earlier
24K2$3.0M
Oct 9, 2022
4 years earlier
21K4$3.9M
Oct 9, 2021
5 years earlier
37K6$6.4M

Open-market sales (Form 4 code S) by people who were officers or directors, in split-adjusted shares. Earlier years include people who have since left. A sale that an outside holder also reports (a family trust, a fund) is counted with outside holders in every year. Shares, not dollars, are compared, so a change in the stock price doesn't look like a change in selling. Years the filings don't fully cover are shown but left out of the average.

Known gaps and uncertaintyEvery officer and director reconciles

Every officer and director reconciles for this period.

Catherine Piche: minor difference of 48 shares. Difference is under 0.5% of holdings.

Robert Collins: minor difference of 181 shares. Small increase from a 401(k) plan.

Inferred rename: "affiliated investment entities" is treated as the same holder as "an affiliated investment entity", because the old name was never reported again and the new one opened with the same balance (10,000 shares). Old name, new name

Inferred rename: "GRAT" is treated as the same holder as "GRAT 2004", because the old name was never reported again and the new one opened with the same balance (30,000 shares). Old name, new name

Inferred rename: "child 1 trust" is treated as the same holder as "child trust 1", because the old name was never reported again and the new one opened with the same balance (1,000 shares). Old name, new name

Inferred rename: "child 2 trust" is treated as the same holder as "child trust 2", because the old name was never reported again and the new one opened with the same balance (400 shares). Old name, new name

Inferred rename: "SPO Partners and may be deemed to be indirectly beneficially owned by" is treated as the same holder as "SPO Partners II, L.P", because the old name was never reported again and the new one opened with the same balance (37,184,963 shares). Old name, new name

Inferred typo: the share class "Common Stock $0.01 Par Value" is treated as the same class as "Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value" on 15 holding lines, because the two spellings are nearly identical and each balance carried over exactly. Example (Peter Abery, 189,958 shares): old title, new title

Inferred typo: the share class "Common Stock, $0.01 par value" is treated as the same class as "Common Stock $0.01 Par Value" on 1 holding line, because the two spellings are nearly identical and each balance carried over exactly. Example (Randall Hack, 37,258 shares): old title, new title

Inferred typo: the share class "12 3/4% Senior Exchangeable Preferred Stock" is treated as the same class as "12-3/4% Senior Exchangeable Preferred Stock" on 1 holding line, because the two spellings are nearly identical and each balance carried over exactly. Example (Carl Ferenbach, 8 shares): old title, new title

Inferred typo: the share class "Common Stock,, $0.01 Par Value" is treated as the same class as "Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value" on 1 holding line, because the two spellings are nearly identical and each balance carried over exactly. Example (Landis Martin, 2,000 shares): old title, new title

Inferred typo: the share class "Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value" is treated as the same class as "Common Stock $0.01 Par Value" on 3 holding lines, because the two spellings are nearly identical and each balance carried over exactly. Example (Benjamin Moreland, 300,000 shares): old title, new title

External context: we only cite outside events when a documented connection exists. None is shown for this period.

Sources and methodology1,320 filings from SEC EDGAR, and how we read them

All 1,320 Forms 3, 4 and 5 filed for Crown Castle (SEC CIK 1051470) from Sep 10, 1998 to Sep 17, 2026, retrieved from SEC EDGAR on Oct 8, 2026. Prices are the ones reported in each filing, often weighted averages. 1 filing was left out because Crown Castle filed them as an owner of another company's stock. 100 older filings exist only on paper and could not be read.

Holdings. Each holding line (a share class plus an owner, such as a trust or LLC) carries its last reported balance forward. Entities first reported during the period start at zero, so transfers between an insider's own trusts don't count as selling. Lines not reported for three years or more are listed separately and left out of totals.

Sales. A sale counts as under a 10b5-1 plan if its footnote cites one or the filing's Rule 10b5-1 box is checked, and as tax-related if its footnote cites tax obligations or sell-to-cover. Shares withheld by the company for taxes are listed separately. Sales with neither attribute are labeled "no plan disclosed".

Full methodology

Former or inactive filers (40)No filing in 18 months; last reported balances, not in any total
NameLast filedLast reported balance
Edmond ChanMar 4, 20257,100 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 19, 2025
Ari FitzgeraldFeb 28, 202536,854 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 26, 2025
Langenfeld ChristyFeb 28, 202535,324 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 26, 2025
Bradley SingerFeb 28, 20255,474 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 26, 2025
Steven MoskowitzFeb 28, 2025No balance on record
Michael KavanaghJul 24, 202476,730 shares, last reported balance as of Jul 23, 2024
Philip KelleyFeb 23, 2024159,548 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 19, 2024
Maria PopeSep 5, 2023902 shares, last reported balance as of Sep 1, 2023
Laura NicholApr 28, 202319,531 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 27, 2023
Benjamin MorelandFeb 24, 2023723,587 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 22, 2023
Jay BrownFeb 24, 2023394,278 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 19, 2023
Kenneth SimonFeb 23, 202298,360 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 19, 2022
Landis MartinFeb 22, 2022238,079 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 17, 2022
Lee HoganFeb 22, 2022224,811 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 17, 2022
Robert AckermanFeb 23, 202141,306 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 19, 2021
Edward Hutcheson Jr.Feb 22, 2021146,939 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 18, 2021
Robert McKenzieFeb 22, 202133,333 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 18, 2021
Robert Garrison IIFeb 22, 202127,756 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 18, 2021
James YoungNov 13, 2020220,572 shares, last reported balance as of Nov 12, 2020
Dale HatfieldFeb 21, 201727,141 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 21, 2017
Rob FisherDec 9, 201673,117 shares, last reported balance as of Dec 9, 2016
Patrick SloweyFeb 23, 201664,426 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 19, 2016
John KellyFeb 22, 20161,715,905 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 18, 2016
Blake HawkFeb 23, 2015460,438 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 19, 2015
David AbramsFeb 17, 201219,075 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 16, 2012
SPO ADVISORY CORPJan 31, 2012167,747,724 shares, last reported balance as of Jan 30, 2012
GREENHILL CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLCOct 9, 20077,885,355 shares, last reported balance as of Oct 5, 2007
Fortress Investment Group LLCJul 6, 20072,464 shares, last reported balance as of Jul 5, 2007
Wesley EdensJul 6, 2007356,442 shares, last reported balance as of Jul 5, 2007
Randall HackMar 9, 2007217,545 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 22, 2007
Abrams Capital Partners II, L.P.Jan 30, 200739,334 shares, last reported balance as of Jan 26, 2007
Michael SchueppertDec 1, 200660,000 shares, last reported balance as of Nov 29, 2006
James CordesOct 24, 200693,297 shares, last reported balance as of Oct 20, 2006
Carl FerenbachMar 9, 2006582,222 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 7, 2006
William StrittmatterFeb 28, 20053,395 shares, last reported balance as of Feb 24, 2005
Wesley CunninghamOct 29, 200440,907 shares, last reported balance as of Oct 27, 2004
Edward WallanderOct 29, 2004254,921 shares, last reported balance as of Oct 27, 2004
Mark SchrottOct 29, 200431,429 shares, last reported balance as of Oct 27, 2004
Peter AberyMay 3, 2004163,292 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 27, 2004
Robert GilesAug 19, 200396,609 shares, last reported balance as of Aug 18, 2003