Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Bought by Walleye Capital LLC

Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,223 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the quarter. Walleye Capital LLC owned 0.18% of Crane worth $15,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Crane by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,001 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Crane in the third quarter valued at about $515,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Crane by 1.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,161,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,459,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.51. The stock had a trading volume of 264,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,642. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a twelve month low of $127.04 and a twelve month high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 target price on Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.40.

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.