Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 65,065 Shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Crown Holdings, Inc. by 0.5%, now owning approximately 10.12% of the company with shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Crown reported a better-than-expected earnings of $2.15 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.29, with quarterly revenue rising 3.6% compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share which represents an annualized yield of 1.0%, with the payout ratio at 21.85%.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,838,765 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 65,065 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.12% of Crown worth $1,056,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CCK. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Crown by 47.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 332 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Crown by 161.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake 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 worth $62,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $72,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Crown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $91,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crown Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE CCK traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $101.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 927,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,865. 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 current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.74. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.98 and a fifty-two week high of $109.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.29. Crown had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 27.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Crown's payout ratio is 21.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Crown from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Crown from $129.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Crown from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crown from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.67.

Insider Activity

In other Crown news, CAO Gerard H. Gifford sold 8,222 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.93, for a total transaction of $846,290.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 122,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,617,674.05. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.41, for a total transaction of $211,743.30. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $447,345. This trade represents a 32.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Crown Company 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.