Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 112.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 8,655 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Crane were worth $2,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 69.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Crane Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Crane stock opened at $152.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. Crane has a 12-month low of $128.50 and a 12-month high of $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $162.02 and its 200-day moving average is $161.62.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CR. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.