Hixon Zuercher LLC Invests $2.42 Million in Crown Holdings, Inc. $CCK

Key Points

• Hixon Zuercher LLC opened a new position in Crown, buying 23,478 shares in Q4 valued at about $2.42 million.
• Crown beat expectations and set stronger guidance: the company reported $1.74 EPS (vs. $1.69 est.) and $3.13B revenue (vs. $2.99B), and issued FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $7.90–$8.30 (Q1 guidance $1.70–$1.80).
• Dividend raised to $0.35 quarterly ($1.40 annualized), implying a ~1.3% yield and a payout ratio of roughly 22%, signaling a shareholder‑return focus.

Hixon Zuercher LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 23,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,418,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crown by 103.1% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 264 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown by 105.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 289 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Crown in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crown by 45.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 356 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crown Price Performance

Crown stock opened at $105.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.75. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.23 and a 52-week high of $116.62. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $107.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 26.68% and a net margin of 5.97%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. Crown has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.300 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Crown's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Crown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crown news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.85, for a total transaction of $801,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 451,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,196,829.50. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Djalma Novaes, Jr. sold 29,734 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total value of $3,413,463.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 88,052 shares in the company, valued at $10,108,369.60. The trade was a 25.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 59,734 shares of company stock worth $6,619,863 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Crown News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Crown this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Crown beat expectations and reiterated/raised guidance: Q reported $1.74 EPS vs. $1.69 est. and revenue of $3.13B vs. $2.99B; management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $7.90–$8.30 and Q1 guidance of $1.70–$1.80 — supports valuation and near‑term earnings visibility. MarketBeat: Crown earnings & guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend was increased (quarterly to $0.35, annualized $1.40), improving yield and showing cash‑return focus; payout ratio remains modest (~22%), which investors typically view favorably for income/total‑return profiles. MarketBeat: Dividend update
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Timothy Donahue sold 7,500 shares for ~$106.85 each (≈$801k) under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan; sale reduced his position by ~1.64% — typical liquidity/estate planning trade but attracts investor scrutiny. InsiderTrades: CEO sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist trimmed its price target from $135 to $129 but kept a "buy" rating — a modest target pullback while retaining conviction. Benzinga: Truist action
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target to $109 and moved to an "equal weight" view, reducing near‑term upside expectations and likely contributing to selling pressure. AmericanBankingNews: Wells Fargo lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its price target to $127 and several other shops trimmed targets recently (UBS, others), creating a cluster of analyst downgrades that can weigh on sentiment despite decent fundamentals. AmericanBankingNews: Citigroup lowers PT

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Crown from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 5th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Crown from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Crown from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Crown in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Crown from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.40.

Crown Company Profile

Crown Holdings, Inc is a leading global supplier of rigid packaging products for consumer goods markets. The company designs, manufactures and sells metal packaging for beverage, food, household, personal care and specialty products. Its portfolio includes aluminum and steel beverage cans, steel food cans, aluminum aerosols, metal closures and ends, offering customers end-to-end solutions from design and prototyping to large-scale production.

Founded in 1919 as the Crown Cork & Seal Company, Crown has grown through strategic acquisitions and investments in advanced manufacturing technologies.

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