Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 698 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,537 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,459,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 19.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,017 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 3.2% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 132,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,925,000 after acquiring an additional 4,096 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Crane by 0.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,577 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,351,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’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 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of Crane stock opened at $142.51 on Friday. Crane has a 12 month low of $127.04 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.66.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CR. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.40.

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.