Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 14,241 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 390.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,890 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 14,241 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Crane were worth $2,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Crane by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $182,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,230 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,159,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,205,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 83,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Crane by 673.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,172 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,913,000 after acquiring an additional 71,544 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.33.

Crane Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Crane stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $157.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 187,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,016. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. Crane has a 52 week low of $98.06 and a 52 week high of $163.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.79. 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, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

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

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.