Motco Lowers Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Motco reduced its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 77.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Crane were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $558,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $4,675,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Crane by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,782,000 after purchasing an additional 29,538 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $162.95 on Friday. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $121.07 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.45.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Activity at Crane

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CR. 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

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.