Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 2,349 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,811 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,349 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.22% of Crane worth $19,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Crane by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,111 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Crane by 6.0% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,932 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Crane by 6.8% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 141,258 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $21,638,000 after purchasing an additional 9,020 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Crane by 3.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,873 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 31.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 569 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on Crane and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.75.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $185.38. 231,828 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 281,632. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.01 and a 200-day moving average of $161.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $191.00. The firm has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.94%.

Crane Company 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.