Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Cuts Holdings in Crane $CR

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC decreased its stake in Crane by 4.2%, selling 21,511 shares, and now owns approximately 0.85% of the company, valued at $75 million.
• Crane reported impressive quarterly earnings, with $1.49 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.34, and revenue of $577.20 million, up 9.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, representing a 0.5% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 15.31%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 489,673 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 21,511 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.85% of Crane worth $75,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth $5,532,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Crane by 19.6% during the first 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 during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the first quarter worth $339,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Crane by 14.1% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 41,970 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,429,000 after buying an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Crane stock traded up $3.74 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $192.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 386,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,647. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.13 and a 200-day moving average of $170.35. Crane has a twelve month low of $127.04 and a twelve month high of $203.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Crane's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crane presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.50.

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.