UMB Bank n.a. Grows Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 84.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 687 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 315 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Crane were worth $105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Crane by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Crane by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,196 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Crane by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Crane by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $186.70 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $162.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.67. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $191.00.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued 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 company had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crane news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CR shares. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on Crane and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.75.

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.