Congress Asset Management Co. Has $126.34 Million Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 28.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 798,190 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 310,788 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 1.40% of Crane worth $126,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Crane by 103.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $182,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,230 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the second quarter worth approximately $21,159,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the second quarter worth approximately $16,205,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 13.0% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 727,846 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $98,354,000 after purchasing an additional 83,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 673.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,172 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,913,000 after buying an additional 71,544 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Trading Down 2.7 %

CR traded down $4.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $157.34. The stock had a trading volume of 282,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,234. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $154.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77. Crane has a 1-year low of $93.53 and a 1-year high of $163.48.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Crane's payout ratio is 18.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.33.

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.