Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Free Report) by 30.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 121,241 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Crown worth $26,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sessa Capital IM L.P. increased its position in shares of Crown by 153.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 3,289,374 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,697,000 after buying an additional 1,989,374 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Crown during the first quarter worth approximately $119,167,000. Metropolis Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Crown by 269.7% during the third quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 1,455,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $139,578,000 after buying an additional 1,062,001 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Crown by 121.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 736,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,787,000 after purchasing an additional 404,250 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Crown in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,981,000. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crown news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.58, for a total value of $679,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 578,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,416,653.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.58, for a total value of $679,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 578,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,416,653.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James H. Miller sold 1,006 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $96,173.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,187,734.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,506 shares of company stock worth $3,157,399 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Crown from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Crown from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Crown from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Crown from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $110.00 price objective on Crown in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.62.

Crown Price Performance

Shares of CCK traded down $0.96 on Wednesday, reaching $93.03. The stock had a trading volume of 439,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,166. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.61 and a twelve month high of $98.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.58 and a 200 day moving average of $86.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 114.74, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.34 EPS for the current year.

Crown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th 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 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Crown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 123.46%.

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.