D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in Crane (NYSE:CR)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,859 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CR. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Crane by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,815 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upgraded Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.20.

Crane Trading Up 0.5%

Crane stock traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $173.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 218,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,830. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $188.52. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $156.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.61.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.93 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.94%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $230,230.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.