Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 4,797 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 147.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,797 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 43.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 697 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Crane by 390.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,890 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,832,000 after buying an additional 14,241 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Crane by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,071 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,296 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,599,000 after acquiring an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,897,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Crane Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $162.93 on Thursday. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $121.07 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. 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 company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $161.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.33.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CR. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.