Sanctuary Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,186 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 825 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter valued at $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Crane by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE CR opened at $162.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.45. 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 market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a 12 month low of $121.07 and a 12 month high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. UBS Group increased their target price 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. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

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.