Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,990 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CR. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $155.61 on Monday. Crane has a 1-year low of $128.50 and a 1-year high of $188.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.76. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

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.