Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Crane during the 4th quarter worth $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Crane by 619.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $75,823,000 after purchasing an additional 430,201 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Crane by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,455,854 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $372,676,000 after purchasing an additional 355,765 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the 4th quarter worth $45,127,000. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Crane by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 754,170 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,445,000 after purchasing an additional 151,717 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Crane Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CR traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $178.57. 1,139,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,779. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $191.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.36.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $557.60 million during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.94%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

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.