American Century Companies Inc. Buys 8,552 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 323,272 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.56% of Crane worth $49,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Crane by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Crane by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its position in Crane by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,975 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,845,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Crane by 1.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Crane stock traded down $3.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $152.27. The stock had a trading volume of 209,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,224. The company has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. Crane has a 52-week low of $128.50 and a 52-week high of $188.52. The firm's fifty day moving average is $162.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. 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 0.60%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, 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 this link. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Crane 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.