77,778 Shares in Carpenter Technology Corporation $CRS Purchased by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired 77,778 shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS), valued at approximately $14.1 million, representing about 0.16% of the company's total shares.
• The company's stock has experienced several upgrades recently, with Benchmark raising its price target from $250 to $300 and JPMorgan Chase increasing it from $245 to $305, both maintaining "buy" ratings.
• Carpenter Technology plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share on September 4th, with a dividend yield of 0.3%, and has also authorized a stock buyback program worth $400 million.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 77,778 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $14,092,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.16% of Carpenter Technology at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Carpenter Technology by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,274 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,478,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Tlwm grew its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 1.8% during the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 10,165 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new stake in Carpenter Technology in the first quarter valued at $5,983,000. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 1st quarter worth about $353,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 1st quarter worth about $63,136,000. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.33.

Insider Activity

In other Carpenter Technology news, CEO Tony R. Thene sold 19,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.99, for a total value of $4,654,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 535,019 shares in the company, valued at $131,074,304.81. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.72, for a total value of $243,720.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,691 shares of company stock valued at $6,290,207. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRS traded up $1.1240 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $241.2140. 110,790 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 909,995. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a 52 week low of $129.57 and a 52 week high of $290.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 3.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $264.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.95. The company has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.44.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $755.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.73 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.78%.

Carpenter Technology announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.