Crane (NYSE:CR) Stake Increased by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Crane Holdings by 0.4%, owning approximately 1.35% of the company worth $118.87 million after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares.
• Multiple analysts have revised their price targets for Crane, with Deutsche Bank raising it from $187.00 to $226.00, and UBS Group increasing theirs to $230.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Crane announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, with a payout ratio of 15.31%, contributing to an annualized yield of 0.5%.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 776,038 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 1.35% of Crane worth $118,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter worth about $5,532,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Crane by 104.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Crane by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,405 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Crane in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Crane by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 41,970 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CR. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.50.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE:CR traded down $2.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $188.86. 318,474 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,284. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $189.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.36. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year high of $203.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 directly owned 9,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by 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.