Crown Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CCK)

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 11,835 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 665% compared to the typical volume of 1,548 put options.

Crown Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:CCK opened at $89.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 110.94, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.21. Crown has a 1 year low of $69.61 and a 1 year high of $98.46.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.18. Crown had a net margin of 0.83% and a return on equity of 24.57%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crown will post 6.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CCK. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Crown from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Crown from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Crown from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Crown from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.89, for a total value of $958,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,970,007.78. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of Crown stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.73, for a total value of $725,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 563,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,524,572.94. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,506 shares of company stock worth $3,157,399 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Crown by 4.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,242,000 after purchasing an additional 82,764 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Crown by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Crown by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 64,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,143,000 after acquiring an additional 19,492 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Crown by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 36,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Crown by 56.6% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 10,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

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.