Axiom Investors LLC DE Sells 5,669 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Axiom Investors LLC DE reduced its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,764 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,669 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned 0.22% of Crane worth $18,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Crane by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $712,533,000 after acquiring an additional 14,373 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,961,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Crane by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $67,758,000 after buying an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Crane by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,782,000 after acquiring an additional 29,538 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $49,057,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Crane stock opened at $152.27 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. Crane has a 52-week low of $128.50 and a 52-week high of $188.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price 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 MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

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 stock was 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 owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.12% of the stock is owned by 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.