Vestcor Inc Boosts Stock Position in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly increased its investment in Crown Holdings, acquiring a 322% larger stake during the first quarter, now owning 11,813 shares worth over $1 million.
• Crown Holdings reported strong quarterly earnings of $2.15 per share, surpassing estimates by $0.29, alongside a revenue increase to $3.15 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 3.6%.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.04 with a yield of 1.1%, scheduled for payment on August 21st.

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) by 322.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,813 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,014 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Crown were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Crown by 155.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Crown by 110.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Crown during the first quarter worth $820,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Crown by 4.2% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Crown by 1.6% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,695 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Crown

In other news, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $447,345. This represents a 32.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gerard H. Gifford sold 8,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.93, for a total value of $846,290.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 122,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,617,674.05. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted 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. Wall Street Zen raised Crown from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $118.00 price target (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Crown in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Crown from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Crown from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.67.

Crown Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE CCK traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $98.35. 1,402,899 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,257,510. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.24. 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 52-week low of $75.98 and a 52-week high of $109.48. The firm has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.74.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Crown's payout ratio is 21.85%.

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.