Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,282 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,788 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Crane were worth $801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CR. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Crane by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Crane by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $62,782,000 after buying an additional 29,538 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,127,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Crane by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Crane by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 132,238 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,068,000 after acquiring an additional 35,340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CR. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR traded down $8.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.09. The company had a trading volume of 534,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,752. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.22 and a 200-day moving average of $161.94. The company has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a 1-year low of $128.50 and a 1-year high of $188.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities 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 paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company 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.