Granahan Investment Management LLC Sells 44,776 Shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Granahan Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 267,077 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 44,776 shares during the quarter. Carpenter Technology comprises approximately 1.9% of Granahan Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned 0.53% of Carpenter Technology worth $45,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,865 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Manuka Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $368,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Carpenter Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $419,000. XML Financial LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 215.3% during the 4th quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 9,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,460 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,731,000. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Carpenter Technology stock traded up $3.45 on Thursday, reaching $233.45. The stock had a trading volume of 334,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,157. Carpenter Technology Co. has a fifty-two week low of $95.17 and a fifty-two week high of $233.70. The business's 50-day moving average price is $185.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 3.80. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.33.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $727.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.67 million. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 9.34%. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Carpenter Technology's payout ratio is currently 11.33%.

Carpenter Technology declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Carpenter Technology from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Carpenter Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total transaction of $678,566.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,647.12. This represents a 33.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.