Crestline Management LP Acquires 27,759 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 412.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,490 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 27,759 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP owned about 0.06% of Crane worth $5,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $712,533,000 after acquiring an additional 14,373 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Crane by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,455,854 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $372,676,000 after purchasing an additional 355,765 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Crane by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,425,015 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $216,246,000 after purchasing an additional 138,279 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Crane by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 976,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $148,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Crane during the 4th quarter worth $144,961,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE CR traded up $3.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $173.54. 74,683 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 266,325. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $188.52.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Crane's payout ratio is 15.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.