Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 10,300 Shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 42.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $2,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRS. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,364,000 after buying an additional 10,094 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 364,312 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $58,137,000 after buying an additional 13,815 shares during the period. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,262,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 23,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,801,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $419,000. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.50.

Carpenter Technology Trading Up 5.6 %

Carpenter Technology stock traded up $10.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $199.06. 727,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 706,028. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Carpenter Technology Co. has a 12 month low of $62.99 and a 12 month high of $213.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $186.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.54.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 19.88%. Analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Carpenter Technology Profile

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.