Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has significantly increased its stake in Crown Holdings by 55.8%, owning now 210,569 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million.
• Crown Holdings reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $2.15 EPS, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $1.86, along with a revenue of $3.15 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing a yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 21.85%.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) by 55.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,420 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Crown worth $18,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Crown by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Crown by 88.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 752 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Crown by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Crown in the 4th quarter worth $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gerard H. Gifford sold 8,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 122,585 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 owned 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $447,345. The trade was a 32.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CCK. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 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 upgraded Crown from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $118.00 target price (up from $117.00) on shares of Crown in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Crown from $129.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.67.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of Crown stock traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $99.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,460,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,300,679. The firm has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.74. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $75.98 and a one year high of $109.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.27.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.29. Crown had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 27.15%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Crown's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Dividend Announcement

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

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.