Driehaus Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 477,604 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 32,710 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned 0.83% of Crane worth $72,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Crane by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $712,533,000 after purchasing an additional 14,373 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Crane by 16.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 138,279 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Crane by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 976,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $148,184,000 after buying an additional 14,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Crane in the fourth quarter worth $144,961,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crane Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CR stock opened at $167.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 12-month low of $127.04 and a 12-month high of $188.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average is $150.73 and its 200 day moving average is $160.27.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane's payout ratio is 15.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average 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.

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