Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 61,242 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. cut its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 38.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 96,898 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 61,242 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Crane were worth $15,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Crane by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $182,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,230 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in Crane during the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,159,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Crane during the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,205,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Crane by 673.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,172 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,913,000 after purchasing an additional 71,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Crane by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 771,709 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $111,882,000 after purchasing an additional 70,297 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CR. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Crane from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.33.

Crane Price Performance

Crane stock opened at $173.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. 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 has a 1 year low of $102.80 and a 1 year high of $180.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.51.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.06%.

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.