Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Acquired by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 147.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,797 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Crane by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Crane by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,758,000 after acquiring an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at about $493,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Crane by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,515,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Crane by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 40,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,210,000 after buying an additional 10,624 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on CR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

Crane stock opened at $162.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Crane has a 52 week low of $121.07 and a 52 week high of $188.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.33. 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 (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

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.