American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 8,552 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 323,272 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 8,552 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.56% of Crane worth $49,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Crane in the third quarter valued at about $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Crane by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth about $86,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crane Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of CR stock opened at $156.16 on Thursday. Crane has a 12-month low of $128.50 and a 12-month high of $188.52. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $162.38 and a 200-day moving average of $161.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.23 dividend. 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 yield of 0.59%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.