American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Carpenter Technology Corporation $CRS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Carpenter Technology Corporation by 13.9%, acquiring an additional 71,747 shares, bringing its total to 588,889 shares valued at approximately $106.7 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $278.33 for Carpenter Technology, with multiple firms issuing buy ratings and two raising their target prices significantly.
• Carpenter Technology is preparing to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 26th, despite the stock experiencing a 1.4% decline.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 588,889 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 71,747 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.18% of Carpenter Technology worth $106,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRS. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,968 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 50.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Carpenter Technology by 27.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,953 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 13.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 651 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,731,000. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CRS shares. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carpenter Technology presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.33.

Carpenter Technology Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of CRS stock traded up $4.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $245.36. 257,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 908,723. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a 12-month low of $129.57 and a 12-month high of $290.84. The company has a current ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $264.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.44.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.18. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The firm had revenue of $755.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $790.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Carpenter Technology's payout ratio is currently 10.78%.

Carpenter Technology announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carpenter Technology

In other Carpenter Technology news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 5,691 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.54, for a total value of $1,391,677.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,646,243.28. The trade was a 45.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Tony R. Thene sold 19,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.99, for a total transaction of $4,654,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 535,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,074,304.81. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,691 shares of company stock valued at $6,290,207 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts.