Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 13,700 Crane (NYSE:CR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Crane by 99.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Crane by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $129.54 on Friday. Crane has a 52 week low of $67.28 and a 52 week high of $139.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $129.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.60.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.09. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $532.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $519.55 million. Analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.00.

Crane Company 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.