StockNews.com Downgrades Crown (NYSE:CCK) to Hold

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

CCK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Crown from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Crown from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Crown from $105.00 to $88.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Crown from $107.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.92.

Crown Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CCK traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.84. 1,483,709 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,952. The business's fifty day moving average price is $87.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.68. Crown has a twelve month low of $69.61 and a twelve month high of $98.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.33, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Crown will post 6.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Crown

In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.73, for a total transaction of $725,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 563,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,524,572.94. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.89, for a total value of $958,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,970,007.78. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Crown by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,088 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown during the fourth quarter valued at $1,051,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Crown by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,095,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,511,000 after acquiring an additional 176,959 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Crown in the fourth quarter worth about $348,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Crown by 84.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.