KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 9,900 Crane (NYSE:CR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,900 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,502,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Crane by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $67,758,000 after buying an additional 5,250 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,782,000 after acquiring an additional 29,538 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Crane by 2.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at $45,127,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Crane by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CR. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crane currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

Crane stock opened at $152.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 1 year low of $128.50 and a 1 year high of $188.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $162.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.87.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 period last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.