Northern Trust Corp Buys 79,481 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 460,392 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 79,481 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.80% of Crane worth $69,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CR. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Crane by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 227,527 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $34,527,000 after purchasing an additional 15,080 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Crane by 250.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 817 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Crane by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 74,304 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $11,276,000 after acquiring an additional 19,638 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in Crane during the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $563,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Crane Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $167.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $188.52. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $150.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.17.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 15.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on CR shares. StockNews.com cut Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 32,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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