Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,214 Shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,436 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,214 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $2,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,444,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $754,295,000 after acquiring an additional 979,313 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Carpenter Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $100,505,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Carpenter Technology by 428.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 592,034 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $103,714,000 after purchasing an additional 479,985 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology during the fourth quarter worth $69,285,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,537,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $260,884,000 after buying an additional 357,417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Carpenter Technology Trading Down 0.3%

CRS stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $231.22. The stock had a trading volume of 73,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,177. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Carpenter Technology Co. has a twelve month low of $95.17 and a twelve month high of $234.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.63.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.14. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business had revenue of $727.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Carpenter Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.33%.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In other news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total transaction of $678,566.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,647.12. The trade was a 33.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRS has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research set a $230.00 price target on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Carpenter Technology from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.00.

Carpenter Technology Profile

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts.