Bank of Nova Scotia Takes $744,000 Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,900 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Aviva PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at $538,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth about $515,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,890,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $20,515,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Crane by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $49,057,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE CR traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 264,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,859. 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 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $188.52. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $153.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.23 dividend. 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 0.65%. This is an increase from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CR has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com cut Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.40.

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.