Select Equity Group L.P. Boosts Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 754,170 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 151,717 shares during the quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 1.32% of Crane worth $114,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CR. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Crane by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,371,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Crane by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Crane by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Crane by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,196 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crane Stock Performance

CR stock traded down $2.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $175.15. 282,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 267,419. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. Crane has a 12 month low of $127.04 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.57.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $557.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane's payout ratio is 15.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 target price on shares of Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Crane from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.20.

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.