Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) Stake Lessened by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,064 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Crown were worth $15,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Crown by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Crown in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crown by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Crown by 6,850.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Crown by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Crown from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Crown from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Crown from $113.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Crown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Crown from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Crown Price Performance

Shares of Crown stock opened at $89.99 on Friday. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.84 and a 1-year high of $98.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.08. Crown had a net margin of 3.59% and a return on equity of 25.12%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.21%.

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.