Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Stock Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 698,776 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 57,331 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 1.22% of Crane worth $107,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $712,533,000 after buying an additional 14,373 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings 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 valued at $372,676,000 after buying an additional 355,765 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Crane by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,425,015 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $216,246,000 after purchasing an additional 138,279 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Crane by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 976,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $148,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,227 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter worth about $144,961,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upgraded Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.50.

Crane Trading Up 1.5%

CR opened at $177.58 on Friday. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $188.52. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $159.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.57.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.94%.

Insider Activity at Crane

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $230,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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