Comerica Bank Reduces Position in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Comerica Bank reduced its position in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,688 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $8,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Carpenter Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Carpenter Technology by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 304 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carpenter Technology Trading Up 5.4 %

NYSE:CRS opened at $213.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.33. Carpenter Technology Co. has a 52-week low of $95.17 and a 52-week high of $215.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.14. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $727.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is 11.33%.

Carpenter Technology announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research set a $230.00 price target on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Carpenter Technology from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Carpenter Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.00.

Insider Transactions at Carpenter Technology

In related news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total value of $678,566.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,647.12. The trade was a 33.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Company Profile

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts.