Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 8,791 Crane (NYSE:CR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,791 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,347,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 129,971 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $19,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Crane by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,020 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Crane by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth about $538,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Crane by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,537 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 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 $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Crane Stock Up 0.8%

CR stock opened at $195.12 on Tuesday. Crane has a twelve month low of $127.04 and a twelve month high of $203.89. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $185.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.15. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CR shares. 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 report on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.50.

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.

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