Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 52,559 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 84.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,059 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 52,559 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.20% of Crane worth $17,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Crane by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter worth about $101,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CR. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Crane has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value 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 $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR stock traded up $0.94 on Friday, reaching $142.51. The company had a trading volume of 264,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,460. The business's 50-day moving average is $154.50 and its 200 day moving average is $160.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's payout ratio is 18.18%.

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.