CCM Investment Group LLC Buys Shares of 5,917 Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC has purchased a new stake in Crown Holdings, Inc., acquiring 5,917 shares valued at approximately $522,000 in the first quarter of this year.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Crown, with Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Invesco Ltd. raising their positions significantly during the past quarter.
• Crown Holdings plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share on August 21st, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.

CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,917 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Crown by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 332 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Crown by 161.2% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Crown by 88.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 752 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Crown by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis acquired a new position in shares of Crown during the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CCK. Mizuho lifted their price target on Crown from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Crown from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Crown from $110.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Crown from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Crown from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gerard H. Gifford sold 8,222 shares of Crown stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.93, for a total transaction of $846,290.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 122,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,617,674.05. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of Crown stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.41, for a total value of $211,743.30. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $447,345. The trade was a 32.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Crown Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Crown stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 927,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,865. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.98 and a 1-year high of $109.48.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 27.15% and a net margin of 4.64%. Crown's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Crown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.85%.

About Crown

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.