Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.54% of Carpenter Technology worth $42,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 68.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,730 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 10,477 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,689 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 43,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 97,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

CRS traded up $1.71 during trading on Monday, reaching $178.87. 456,629 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 592,883. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.52. Carpenter Technology Co. has a 12-month low of $58.87 and a 12-month high of $182.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.84. The company has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.15. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $717.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $742.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Carpenter Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.68 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.60.

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.