Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 430,201 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 619.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 499,656 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 430,201 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.87% of Crane worth $75,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Crane by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $712,533,000 after acquiring an additional 14,373 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at about $144,961,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Crane by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $62,782,000 after buying an additional 29,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $49,057,000 after buying an additional 8,552 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CR. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

Crane stock traded down $8.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $137.09. 534,825 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,752. The business's 50-day moving average is $161.22 and its 200-day moving average is $161.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a 12-month low of $128.50 and a 12-month high of $188.52. 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 (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Crane's payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Crane Company Profile

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.