Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 5,509 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 797,880 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.39% of Crane worth $121,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Crane by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Crane by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Crane by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the 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 $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Crane Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CR traded up $2.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $160.98. 670,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 266,417. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. 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 fifty-two week low of $127.04 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.39 and a 200-day moving average of $160.06.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane's payout ratio is 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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. UBS Group upgraded Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.