955,264 Shares in Crane (NYSE:CR) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 955,264 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $144,961,000. Norges Bank owned 1.67% of Crane at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 129,971 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $516,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Crane by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,533,000 after buying an additional 14,373 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter worth about $1,502,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Crane by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $49,057,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $153.77 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. Crane has a 12-month low of $128.50 and a 12-month high of $188.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.12.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

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

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 transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CR shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

About Crane

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.