11,727 Shares in Crane (NYSE:CR) Purchased by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,727 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviva PLC bought a new stake in Crane in the fourth quarter worth $538,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,890,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Crane by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Crane by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $49,057,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at $744,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CR shares. UBS Group upgraded Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Crane Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Crane stock traded up $2.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 670,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,417. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year high of $188.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.06. 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 cap of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $557.60 million for 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%. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Crane Company 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.