First City Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,127 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,127 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Crane were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Crane by 103.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $182,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,230 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,659,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crane in the second quarter valued at $16,205,000. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its holdings in Crane by 313.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 145,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,181,000 after buying an additional 110,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in Crane by 13.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 727,846 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $98,354,000 after acquiring an additional 83,938 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Price Performance

Crane stock opened at $152.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.87, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.27 and its 200-day moving average is $144.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 12 month low of $82.57 and a 12 month high of $162.34.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.33 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

About Crane

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.