Commerce Bank Decreases Stock Position in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Commerce Bank lessened its position in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,057 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Crown were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Crown by 10,138.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,105,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074,791 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Crown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,568,000. Metropolis Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Crown by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 2,456,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $203,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,605 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown during the fourth quarter worth $66,732,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Crown by 146.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,008,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,393,000 after purchasing an additional 599,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCK opened at $86.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.30. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.84 and a 52-week high of $98.46. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.79.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.59 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Crown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Crown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Crown from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Crown from $107.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Crown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Crown from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.42.

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.