Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lessened its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,474 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $2,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Aviva PLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the fourth quarter worth about $538,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,890,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Crane by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,515,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Crane by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $49,057,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Crane by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $141.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.90. Crane has a twelve month low of $127.04 and a twelve month high of $188.52. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CR. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.60.

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.