Diametric Capital LP Cuts Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Diametric Capital LP lessened its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,568 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 504 shares during the quarter. Diametric Capital LP’s holdings in Crane were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Crane by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Crane by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Crane by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,845,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Crane by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CR shares. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $154.85 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.13.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released 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 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Crane 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.