New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $6 Million Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,550 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 7,539 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of Crane worth $6,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CR. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Crane by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,741 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter valued at $493,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $20,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Crane by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 40,920 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,210,000 after purchasing an additional 10,624 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Crane Stock Performance

CR stock traded down $6.99 on Monday, reaching $156.00. 114,818 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,065. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a 12 month low of $122.50 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $161.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (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 business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is an increase from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.80.

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.