Crane (NYSE:CR) Holdings Decreased by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC decreased its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,870 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,650 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC owned 0.07% of Crane worth $5,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth approximately $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Crane by 619.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $75,823,000 after buying an additional 430,201 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Crane by 16.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,127,000. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Crane by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 754,170 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,445,000 after buying an additional 151,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of Crane 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Crane Stock Performance

CR stock traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.10. The company had a trading volume of 217,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,788. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $188.52. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $155.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.62.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane's payout ratio is 15.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.