Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 9,571 Shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) by 57.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,571 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Crown were worth $642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Crown by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of Crown by 88.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 752 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Crown by 33.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Crown by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 823 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Crown by 325.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 846 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CCK shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Crown from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Crown from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Crown from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crown from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Crown from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crown news, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 7,000 shares of Crown stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $679,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 135,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,096,358. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.41, for a total transaction of $211,743.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $447,345. The trade was a 32.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCK traded up $1.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $102.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,861,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,235,589. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.31 and a 200-day moving average of $89.58. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.84 and a 12 month high of $103.61.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. Crown had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 26.98%. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Crown's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

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.