Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Crown (NYSE:CCK)

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 9,980 put options on the company. This is an increase of 426% compared to the average daily volume of 1,897 put options.

Crown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCK traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.33. 141,322 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,114,999. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.92. Crown has a twelve month low of $69.61 and a twelve month high of $96.35. The stock has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 23.95% and a net margin of 3.51%. Crown’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Crown will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Crown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CCK. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Crown from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Crown from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $88.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Crown in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Crown in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Crown in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James H. Miller sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total transaction of $746,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,068,470.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of Crown stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $637,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 608,678 shares in the company, valued at $51,737,630. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James H. Miller sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $746,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,068,470.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,300,420 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crown

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crown by 293.0% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 230,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,248,000 after purchasing an additional 171,641 shares during the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its holdings in Crown by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 97,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,697,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Crown during the first quarter valued at about $11,186,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Crown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $296,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Crown by 89.6% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.