Swiss National Bank Sells 10,900 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,100 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 10,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.17% of Crane worth $11,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Crane by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,110 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Crane by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,453 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 3,528 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA acquired a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Crane by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 61,179 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $7,228,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Vertical Research upgraded Crane from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.00.

Crane Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CR traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $143.91. 246,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 245,989. Crane has a 1-year low of $71.33 and a 1-year high of $146.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

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.