Stonegate Investment Group LLC Buys 72 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CR. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Crane by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of CR opened at $170.99 on Thursday. Crane has a 1 year low of $115.00 and a 1 year 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.76. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.80.

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.