Crane (NYSE:CR) VP Alejandro Alcala Sells 2,293 Shares

Crane (NYSE:CR) VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR opened at $171.68 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a twelve month low of $118.48 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.23 dividend. 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 0.54%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.80.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Crane in the third quarter valued at about $515,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Crane by 328.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,765,000 after buying an additional 18,236 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Crane by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,447,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Crane by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $92,707,000 after acquiring an additional 3,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Crane by 5.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,765,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.