Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in Crane Co. (NYSE:CR) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,288 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Crane by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 86,801 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,668 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $506,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $4,311,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Crane by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,633 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.08% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities analysts recently commented on CR shares. Raymond James reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Friday, January 11th. ValuEngine cut shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 25th. CIBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Friday, February 1st. Finally, GMP Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, February 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $96.89.
NYSE CR traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 173,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,283. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Crane Co. has a 52 week low of $67.18 and a 52 week high of $100.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.37.
Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $839.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.96 million. Crane had a net margin of 10.03% and a return on equity of 24.54%. Crane’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crane Co. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 27th. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Crane’s payout ratio is 26.04%.
In other news, VP James A. Lavish sold 10,896 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.90, for a total transaction of $903,278.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 23,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,388.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Louis V. Pinkham sold 55,103 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.03, for a total value of $4,685,408.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,149 shares of company stock worth $6,026,127. Corporate insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.
Crane Company Profile
Crane Co manufactures and sells engineered industrial products worldwide. The company’s Fluid Handling segment offers process valves and related products, including on/off valves and related products for application in the chemical, oil and gas, power, and general industrial end markets; valves and related products for the non-residential construction, general industrial, and municipal markets; and pumps and related products for water and wastewater applications in the industrial, municipal, commercial, and military markets.
