Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 116,270 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Carpenter Technology worth $25,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRS. FMR LLC raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 47.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,465,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $552,992,000 after buying an additional 1,108,963 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 428.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 592,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $103,714,000 after buying an additional 479,985 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology during the third quarter valued at $25,262,000. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the third quarter worth $18,868,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the third quarter worth $17,337,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

Shares of CRS opened at $195.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.80 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Carpenter Technology Co. has a one year low of $62.99 and a one year high of $213.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $188.87 and a 200 day moving average of $170.36.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 9.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 28th. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Carpenter Technology from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research set a $230.00 price target on Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.17.

Carpenter Technology Profile

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts.