US Bancorp DE Decreases Stock Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

US Bancorp DE lessened its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,988 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Crane were worth $2,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Crane in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,532,000. Aviva PLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter worth $538,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 104.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 19.6% during the first quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,405 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the first quarter valued at $339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of Crane 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR opened at $194.08 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $186.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.83. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $127.04 and a fifty-two week high of $203.89. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.15. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 15.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CR. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.50.

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.