MetLife Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,428 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Crane were worth $4,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Crane by 487.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth $86,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Crane by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Crane in the fourth quarter valued at $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the 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 directly owns 32,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 target price on Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.00.

Crane Stock Up 6.5 %

NYSE:CR traded up $9.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $158.29. 819,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 264,940. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $150.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.07.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $546.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.