Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 53,998 Crane (NYSE:CR)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 53,998 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $8,194,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.09% of Crane as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Crane by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 18,447 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,799,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Crane by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 132,559 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,116,000 after acquiring an additional 17,295 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at $8,232,000. Twinbeech Capital LP raised its position in shares of Crane by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 46,422 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $7,045,000 after purchasing an additional 18,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Crane by 25.2% in 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. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.50.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $176.12. 48,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,198. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $157.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.46. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $546.93 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. Crane's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crane news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.12% of the stock is currently 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.