Carpenter Technology Corporation $CRS Position Increased by Granahan Investment Management LLC

Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,437 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,768 shares during the quarter. Carpenter Technology accounts for about 2.7% of Granahan Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Granahan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $66,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at $319,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at $228,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 1,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 97,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 3,548 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Trading Down 4.0%

NYSE CRS opened at $362.00 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $359.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.36. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a 12 month low of $138.61 and a 12 month high of $412.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 4.25 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The firm had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $733.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Carpenter Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 27th. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CRS. BTIG Research increased their target price on Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Carpenter Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Susquehanna assumed coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set a “positive” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Carpenter Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven E. Karol sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.12, for a total transaction of $1,333,920.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 225,381 shares in the company, valued at $85,897,206.72. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP James D. Dee sold 15,800 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.78, for a total value of $6,190,124.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 73,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,889,465.42. This trade represents a 17.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 22,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,664,044 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts. It serves to aerospace, defense, medical, transportation, energy, industrial, and consumer markets.