Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,624 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Crane worth $6,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $171.83 on Tuesday. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $118.48 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $161.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.32. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on 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 price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane 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.