Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 440,943 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,557 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.77% of Crane worth $67,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Crane by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 569 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CR. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.75.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $193.28. 22,162 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 323,074. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $194.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company's 50 day moving average price is $176.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.05.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.94%.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $230,230.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Crane Profile

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.