Entropy Technologies LP Cuts Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP reduced its stake in Crane by 32.2% during the first quarter, owning 4,608 shares valued at $706,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Crane, with Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosting its stake by 96.6% to 4,800 shares worth $735,000.
• Crane announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23, representing a 0.5% yield, with an ex-dividend date of August 29th.

Entropy Technologies LP reduced its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 32.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,608 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,192 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Crane were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CR. Capital World Investors raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 355,765 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 976,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $148,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,227 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Crane by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 797,880 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $121,080,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Crane by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 754,170 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $114,445,000 after purchasing an additional 151,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Crane by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 679,768 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $104,127,000 after purchasing an additional 130,218 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Trading Down 1.1%

CR traded down $2.12 on Friday, hitting $188.86. The company had a trading volume of 318,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,284. The firm has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $203.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $189.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $577.20 million for 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 revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Crane's payout ratio is 15.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane 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 transaction of $230,230.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,796 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

About Crane

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.