Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 631,576 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 214,482 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.11% of Crane worth $74,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CR. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in Crane by 120.5% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,316,245 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $116,935,000 after purchasing an additional 719,408 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth about $21,302,000. JS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Crane by 98.0% during the third quarter. JS Capital Management LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,536,000 after acquiring an additional 198,000 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Crane by 143.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,387,000 after acquiring an additional 68,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,997,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $142.90 on Friday. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $67.28 and a fifty-two week high of $146.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Crane’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CR shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Vertical Research upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.00.

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.