Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $2,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CR. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Crane by 1.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,038 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,530 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Crane by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $150.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.46. 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 $110.49 and a 12-month high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $594.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.00.

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.