Crown Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CCK)

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 11,877 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 855% compared to the average daily volume of 1,244 put options.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of CCK opened at $80.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.43, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Crown has a one year low of $69.61 and a one year high of $98.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.13 and a 200 day moving average of $87.59.

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

Crown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Crown’s payout ratio is 123.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.89, for a total value of $958,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,402 shares in the company, valued at $10,970,007.78. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total transaction of $697,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 571,178 shares in the company, valued at $53,119,554. The trade was a 1.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $2,381,875 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CCK. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Crown by 121.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,109,000 after buying an additional 12,058 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Crown by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 249,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,878,000 after acquiring an additional 10,295 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Crown by 139.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 122,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,104,000 after acquiring an additional 71,227 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Crown by 7.8% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 100,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,676,000 after purchasing an additional 7,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Crown by 62.0% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 23,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 8,857 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Crown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Crown from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Crown from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Crown from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crown currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.62.

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.