Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $9,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Crane by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Crane by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,845,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Crane by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Down 1.2 %

CR stock opened at $152.99 on Friday. 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 has a 12-month low of $128.50 and a 12-month high of $188.52. The stock has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $161.98 and its 200 day moving average is $161.59.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

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.