Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,790 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Crown were worth $2,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Crown by 155.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Crown by 110.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Crown during the first quarter valued at about $820,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Crown by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown by 588.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCK opened at $106.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.76. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.98 and a 1 year high of $109.48.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.45. Crown had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 26.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. Crown’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown

In related news, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.41, for a total value of $211,743.30. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $447,345. This trade represents a 32.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $679,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,014 shares in the company, valued at $13,096,358. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CCK shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Crown from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Crown from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crown from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Crown from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.45.

Crown Profile

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.