Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,172 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 91,029 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $92,707,000 after buying an additional 3,188 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in Crane by 5.1% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 183,725 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,080,000 after buying an additional 8,899 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Crane by 0.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,577 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,351,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $175.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a twelve month low of $110.49 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.67. The firm has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CR. UBS Group upped their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crane has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.80.

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.