Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Invests $749,000 in Crown Holdings, Inc. $CCK

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC has invested approximately $749,000 in Crown Holdings, acquiring 8,391 shares of the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Invesco Ltd., have significantly increased their holdings in Crown, indicating strong interest in the company.
• Crown Holdings recently reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $2.15 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.86.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $749,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Crown by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,135,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $279,836,000 after buying an additional 167,252 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Crown by 412.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,719,296 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $153,464,000 after buying an additional 1,383,624 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Crown by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,705,081 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $140,720,000 after buying an additional 399,842 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Crown by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,637,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $146,117,000 after buying an additional 83,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,549,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $128,126,000 after buying an additional 279,596 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCK opened at $100.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.98 and a 12 month high of $109.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.05. The stock has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.74.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.15 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 business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Crown's payout ratio is currently 21.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gerard H. Gifford sold 8,222 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 122,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,617,674.05. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Crown in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Crown from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Crown from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Crown from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.67.

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.

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