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

Capital International Investors lessened its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,392,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 76,948 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 2.43% of Crane worth $211,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Crane by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Crane by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,845,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on Crane and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.40.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $142.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.60.

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 return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.