57,188 Shares in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) Purchased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd has made a new investment of approximately $5.04 million in Crown Holdings, acquiring 57,188 shares of the company.
• Crown Holdings reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.15, surpassing analysts' expectations, and a 3.6% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.01%, with a payout ratio of 21.85%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 57,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,044,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Crown by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,135,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $279,836,000 after buying an additional 167,252 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Crown by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,705,081 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $140,720,000 after purchasing an additional 399,842 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Crown by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,553,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $128,464,000 after purchasing an additional 12,784 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Crown by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,549,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $128,126,000 after purchasing an additional 279,596 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crown in the fourth quarter worth $113,568,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Crown Stock Down 0.0%

CCK stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $99.33. 324,301 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,293,629. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.98 and a 12 month high of $109.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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 business had revenue of $3.15 billion during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Crown's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Crown news, CAO Gerard H. Gifford sold 8,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.93, for a total value of $846,290.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 122,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,617,674.05. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $447,345. This represents a 32.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,034. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CCK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Crown from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Crown from $110.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Crown from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Crown in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Crown from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.67.

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.