Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 816,226 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.43% of Crane worth $123,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $101,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $132.30 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $127.04 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.10 and a 200-day moving average of $161.49.

Crane (NYSE:CR) 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 period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.