MML Investors Services LLC Sells 707 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

MML Investors Services LLC cut its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 22.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 707 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Crane by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 771,709 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $111,882,000 after buying an additional 70,297 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Crane by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $103,748,000 after purchasing an additional 91,029 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $92,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Crane by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 430,543 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,420,000 after acquiring an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in Crane by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 384,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $55,758,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crane Price Performance

CR opened at $155.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.52. Crane has a 12-month low of $110.49 and a 12-month high of $188.52. The company has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.45 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

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.