Cynosure Group LLC Has $912,000 Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 149.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,604 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter worth approximately $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Crane by 619.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $75,823,000 after acquiring an additional 430,201 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter worth $45,127,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at about $17,062,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,890,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Up 1.1 %

Crane stock opened at $154.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.13. Crane has a 1-year low of $128.50 and a 1-year high of $188.52. 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 (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (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 business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.12% 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.