Advisors Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,252 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Crane were worth $3,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,127,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,062,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Crane by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $103,748,000 after acquiring an additional 91,029 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $12,890,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Crane by 67.2% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 93,535 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $14,805,000 after acquiring an additional 37,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

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Crane Price Performance

NYSE CR traded down $4.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $156.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 290,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,921. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Crane has a 1-year low of $128.50 and a 1-year high of $188.52. The company's 50-day moving average is $162.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CR. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.80.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials.