Gabelli Funds LLC Has $120.54 Million Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 794,348 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 29,900 shares during the quarter. Crane makes up approximately 0.9% of Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 1.39% of Crane worth $120,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Crane by 619.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $75,823,000 after buying an additional 430,201 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth about $45,127,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Crane by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,425,015 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $216,246,000 after buying an additional 138,279 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,890,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crane Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Crane stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.51. The stock had a trading volume of 264,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,642. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. Crane has a 52 week low of $127.04 and a 52 week high of $188.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.60.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CR. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 target price on Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.40.

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.