Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 293,542 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 6,425 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.51% of Crane worth $44,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at about $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Crane by 619.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $75,823,000 after buying an additional 430,201 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,455,854 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $372,676,000 after buying an additional 355,765 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,127,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Crane by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,425,015 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $216,246,000 after purchasing an additional 138,279 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.20.

Crane Price Performance

CR stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $178.34. 54,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 266,191. Crane has a twelve month low of $127.04 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.32.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Crane's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Crane's payout ratio is 15.94%.

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.