Crane (NYSE:CR) Stake Cut by Choreo LLC

Choreo LLC reduced its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,389 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 883 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Crane by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CR. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of CR stock opened at $171.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a 12 month low of $118.48 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.20. 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 (NYSE:CR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.