Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 1,971 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 816,226 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.43% of Crane worth $123,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CR. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Crane by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Crane in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Crane by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth $101,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CR traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $140.92. 38,920 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,524. The company has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $156.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

About Crane

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.