State of Michigan Retirement System Increases Stake in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $2,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Carpenter Technology by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,467 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter worth $18,731,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRS. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Carpenter Technology from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.33.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRS opened at $277.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.53 and a 52 week high of $282.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $247.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.44. The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $727.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.67 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Carpenter Technology

In related news, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.72, for a total value of $243,720.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total transaction of $678,566.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,647.12. The trade was a 33.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Carpenter Technology 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.