Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,120 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Carpenter Technology worth $27,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 829 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Carpenter Technology by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,731,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Carpenter Technology by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,967 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carpenter Technology

In other news, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the director owned 6,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,647.12. The trade was a 33.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

Shares of CRS opened at $275.95 on Wednesday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $106.03 and a one year high of $282.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $242.61 and a 200 day moving average of $206.07.

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

Carpenter Technology announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.

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