Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 5,509 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 797,880 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 5,509 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.39% of Crane worth $121,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Crane by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Crane by 69.1% during 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 period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth about $86,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Crane by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $148.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's 50-day moving average price is $151.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.11. Crane has a 12 month low of $127.04 and a 12 month high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors 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. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price objective on Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.40.

Crane Company 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.

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