Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 63.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,623 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,267 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CR. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Crane by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Crane by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth $101,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Crane by 250.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Crane by 901.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 911 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. UBS Group raised Crane from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR opened at $177.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.30. The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $557.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane’s payout ratio is 15.94%.

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.