Citigroup Inc. Boosts Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 328.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,790 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 18,236 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Crane were worth $3,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new position in Crane during the second quarter worth approximately $21,159,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,205,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $103,748,000 after acquiring an additional 91,029 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Crane by 673.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,172 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $11,913,000 after purchasing an additional 71,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Crane by 10.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 771,709 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $111,882,000 after purchasing an additional 70,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $167.00.

Crane Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Crane stock traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $176.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 146,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,538. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $166.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.75. The company has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. Crane has a one year low of $102.80 and a one year high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. Crane's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Crane's payout ratio is 18.06%.

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.