Madison Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 25,621 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $3,888,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Crane by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business'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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of Crane stock traded down $4.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.16. 290,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 235,921. The stock has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. 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 $128.50 and a 52 week high of $188.52. The firm's fifty day moving average is $162.36 and its 200-day moving average is $161.90.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 0.59%. Crane's 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.