Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Reduces Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 64,002 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,010 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $9,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CR. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Crane by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $103,748,000 after acquiring an additional 91,029 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Crane by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $92,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Crane by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 183,725 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,080,000 after purchasing an additional 8,899 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 132,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,068,000 after buying an additional 35,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 132,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,925,000 after purchasing an additional 4,096 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CR shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $172.74 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.50. Crane has a one year low of $118.48 and a one year high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Crane Company 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.