Cetera Investment Advisers Lowers Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its holdings in Crane by 16.7%, selling 1,366 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 6,830 shares worth approximately $1,046,000.
• Several analysts boosted their target prices for Crane, with DA Davidson raising it from $200.00 to $230.00, while the consensus rating for the stock is categorized as a "Moderate Buy."
• Crane plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.23 on September 10th, representing an annualized yield of 0.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 15.31%.

Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,830 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,366 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Crane were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the first quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 58.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,893 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in shares of Crane by 5.1% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 10,400 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Crane by 5.0% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 13,472 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,064,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crane Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CR traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $198.39. The stock had a trading volume of 271,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,755. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26. The business's fifty day moving average price is $188.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.03. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $203.89.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $577.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.70 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. Crane's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CR shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Crane Company 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.