Crown (NYSE:CCK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Crown (NYSE:CCK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CCK. Morgan Stanley raised Crown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Crown from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Crown from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Crown Stock Performance

CCK opened at $85.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.58 and its 200-day moving average is $88.27. The stock has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 105.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. Crown has a twelve month low of $69.61 and a twelve month high of $98.46.

Crown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Crown’s payout ratio is 123.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Crown news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of Crown stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.73, for a total transaction of $725,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 563,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,524,572.94. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.89, for a total transaction of $958,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,970,007.78. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Crown by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 109,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,996 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Crown by 172.4% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 29,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after buying an additional 18,563 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its position in shares of Crown by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 25,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,102,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown during the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Crown during the 4th quarter valued at about $970,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.