Crane (NYSE:CR) Holdings Trimmed by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 571,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 14,330 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.99% of Crane worth $87,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Crane by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,455,854 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $372,676,000 after purchasing an additional 355,765 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in Crane by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 754,170 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,445,000 after purchasing an additional 151,717 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 23.7% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 679,768 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $104,127,000 after buying an additional 130,218 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Crane during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,835,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Crane by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 597,733 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $90,706,000 after purchasing an additional 115,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Crane

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $230,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CR. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.50.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR traded down $2.12 on Friday, hitting $188.86. 318,474 shares of the company's stock traded hands, 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $189.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 P/E/G 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, 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 net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Crane's payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

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.