Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 198,911 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 22,232 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Crane worth $30,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 147.6% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 8,048 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 4,797 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Crane by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $62,782,000 after purchasing an additional 29,538 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,675,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $558,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter worth approximately $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Crane Stock Up 1.6%

CR stock traded up $2.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $188.15. 311,897 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 281,753. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $191.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.74.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $557.60 million for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.94%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.75.

Crane 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.