Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $4.68 Million in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 30,805 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $4,675,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Crane at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Crane by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR stock traded up $2.70 on Friday, reaching $154.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 372,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,834. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $161.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.55. The company has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.82 and a 1 year high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 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 last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Crane's payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

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.