BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Position in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 59.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 49,372 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.07% of Carpenter Technology worth $5,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRS. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,465,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $552,992,000 after buying an additional 1,108,963 shares during the period. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the second quarter worth about $73,850,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 129.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 849,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $93,044,000 after buying an additional 479,047 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 1,538.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 213,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,053,000 after buying an additional 200,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the second quarter worth about $13,248,000. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carpenter Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.00.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Carpenter Technology stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $193.19. The stock had a trading volume of 113,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 589,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.84 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.52. Carpenter Technology Co. has a 1-year low of $58.87 and a 1-year high of $198.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $168.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.14.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.15. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $717.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $742.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Carpenter Technology's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.82%.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts.