Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases Shares of 40,970 Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 40,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,388,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CCK. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Crown by 5.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Crown by 10.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 171,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,403,000 after acquiring an additional 16,050 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown during the third quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Crown by 3,676.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 9,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 9,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Crown in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $533,000. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Price Performance

Shares of CCK opened at $90.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.22. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.84 and a twelve month high of $98.46.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.08. Crown had a net margin of 3.59% and a return on equity of 25.12%. As a group, research analysts expect that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CCK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Crown from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Crown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Crown from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Crown from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Crown from $107.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

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.