Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,206 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 3,243 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Crane worth $9,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Crane by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $103,748,000 after purchasing an additional 91,029 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Crane by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $92,707,000 after buying an additional 3,188 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Crane by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $67,758,000 after acquiring an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Crane by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $62,782,000 after acquiring an additional 29,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,127,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Crane Trading Up 4.1 %
Shares of NYSE:CR traded up $6.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $158.93. The company had a trading volume of 252,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,385. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 12 month low of $128.50 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.70. The stock has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30.
Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. On average, analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.
Crane Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's payout ratio is currently 18.18%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
CR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.80.
Get Our Latest Research Report on CR
Insider Buying and Selling at Crane
In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.
About Crane
(
Free Report)
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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