Highland Capital Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)

Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,411 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 669 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 27.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 359 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 50.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,008 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 651 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRS. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Northcoast Research upgraded Carpenter Technology from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.33.

Carpenter Technology Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Carpenter Technology stock traded up $0.35 on Monday, hitting $276.17. 932,377 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 801,393. The company has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.37. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a one year low of $103.37 and a one year high of $282.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $230.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $727.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.67 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Carpenter Technology's payout ratio is currently 11.33%.

Carpenter Technology announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 1,000 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.72, for a total value of $243,720.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total value of $678,566.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,647.12. This represents a 33.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Carpenter Technology Company Profile

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts.