Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $51.88 Million Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 439,159 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 9,722 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.77% of Crane worth $51,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Crane by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Crane during the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Cadent Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crane in the 4th quarter worth about $246,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Crane from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Crane from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Crane from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.50.

Crane Stock Down 2.7 %

CR traded down $3.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $145.63. 142,346 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 245,449. Crane has a 1 year low of $71.33 and a 1 year high of $150.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Crane's dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

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.