Independent Advisor Alliance Purchases 104 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Crane were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth about $17,062,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Crane by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $103,748,000 after purchasing an additional 91,029 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,890,000. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 67.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Crane by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 132,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,068,000 after purchasing an additional 35,340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Up 3.2 %

Crane stock opened at $155.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.71. 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 has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30.

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 return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.