Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Sold by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors reduced its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,392,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 76,948 shares during the period. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Crane were worth $211,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Aviva PLC acquired a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth $538,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,890,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Crane by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $49,057,000 after purchasing an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Crane by 50.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CR. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on Crane and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.40.

Insider Activity at Crane

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $142.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a 12 month low of $127.04 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $153.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.60.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

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.