Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,672 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,112 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,672 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Crane were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Crane by 7.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Crane by 147.6% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 8,048 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 4,797 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Crane by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,741 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.2% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, TigerOak Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter worth $493,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CR shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.80.

Crane Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE CR traded down $6.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $156.66. 284,901 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 262,753. Crane has a 12-month low of $122.50 and a 12-month high of $188.52. The firm has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

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.