Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 11,584 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,329 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,584 shares during the quarter. Crane comprises 0.7% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.36% of Crane worth $31,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’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 directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Crane Price Performance

CR stock opened at $148.15 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $127.04 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.19 and a 200-day moving average of $161.37.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS 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 last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.