Blue Trust Inc. Has $86,000 Stock Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 541 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Crane were worth $86,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CR. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth about $28,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $171.88 on Friday. Crane has a 1-year low of $118.48 and a 1-year high of $188.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.63. The company has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.