Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Sold by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,711 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Crane were worth $875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Crane by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Crane by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 250.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 901.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 911 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR opened at $177.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.57. Crane has a 52 week low of $127.04 and a 52 week high of $188.52. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 15.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $230,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Crane from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.50.

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.