Crane (NYSE:CR) Holdings Boosted by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,990 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Crane were worth $1,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter worth $515,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 328.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,790 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,765,000 after buying an additional 18,236 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Crane by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,515,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,447,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $92,707,000 after buying an additional 3,188 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CR. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated 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 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 is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Crane Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Crane stock traded down $1.90 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $152.99. 247,375 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 229,713. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. Crane has a twelve month low of $128.50 and a twelve month high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.