Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,243 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Crane worth $9,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Crane by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $86,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $152.99 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.59. Crane has a 12-month low of $128.50 and a 12-month high of $188.52.

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 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. As a group, analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.