Axiom Investors LLC DE Has $18.78 Million Stock Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Axiom Investors LLC DE decreased its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,764 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,669 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned 0.22% of Crane worth $18,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CR. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Crane by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Crane by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

Crane stock traded down $6.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $139.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 177,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,878. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a twelve month low of $128.50 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $161.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.23 dividend. 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 yield of 0.66%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

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.