Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,581 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,186 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CR. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR opened at $172.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $118.48 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. The stock has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.50.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted 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 net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $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 at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

About Crane

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.