Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Position in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 442 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Crown were worth $2,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Crown by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Crown in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Crown by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Crown by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Crown by 6,850.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Price Performance

Crown stock opened at $91.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.84 and a 1 year high of $98.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.55.

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

Crown Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is an increase from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CCK. Citigroup raised their price target on Crown from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Crown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Crown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Crown from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

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.