Nebula Research & Development LLC Buys Shares of 3,713 Crane (NYSE:CR)

Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,713 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CR. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Crane by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Crane by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth $86,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Crane by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth about $101,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CR. UBS Group upgraded Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 target price on Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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 boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Crane Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of CR stock traded up $4.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $167.48. 340,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 267,064. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $188.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50 day moving average is $150.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.