Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Acquires 9,020 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,258 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 9,020 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.25% of Crane worth $21,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Crane by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $712,533,000 after purchasing an additional 14,373 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,455,854 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $372,676,000 after buying an additional 355,765 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,425,015 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $216,246,000 after buying an additional 138,279 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Crane by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 976,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $148,184,000 after buying an additional 14,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth about $144,961,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Crane Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Crane stock traded up $0.83 during trading on Monday, hitting $182.27. The stock had a trading volume of 324,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,342. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $191.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.