Crane (NYSE:CR) VP Alejandro Alcala Sells 2,293 Shares

Crane (NYSE:CR) VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Crane Stock Up 0.7 %

CR stock opened at $173.31 on Tuesday. Crane has a 12 month low of $118.48 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The company has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $161.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 0.53%. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Crane in the fourth quarter valued at $45,127,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter valued at about $17,062,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Crane by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $103,748,000 after acquiring an additional 91,029 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,890,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC grew its stake in Crane by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 93,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,805,000 after purchasing an additional 37,581 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crane has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

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.