By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in Crane (NYSE:CR – Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,483 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Crane were worth $2,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $17,062,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Crane by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $103,748,000 after purchasing an additional 91,029 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in Crane by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 93,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $14,805,000 after purchasing an additional 37,581 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Crane by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 132,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,068,000 after purchasing an additional 35,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,459,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
CR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.
View Our Latest Stock Report on CR
Crane Trading Down 1.4 %
NYSE:CR opened at $171.22 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $161.39 and its 200-day moving average is $160.67. 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 has a 52 week low of $118.48 and a 52 week high of $188.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25.
Crane (NYSE:CR – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.
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