Intrust Bank NA Buys 262 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Crane were worth $544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CR. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Crane by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,961,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 129,971 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $19,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $516,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Crane by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,533,000 after acquiring an additional 14,373 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $152.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. Crane has a 52 week low of $128.50 and a 52 week high of $188.52. The firm has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $162.32 and its 200-day moving average is $161.99.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Crane Company 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.