Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. trimmed its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,442 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Crane were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CR. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $515,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Crane by 328.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after acquiring an additional 18,236 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Crane by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CR shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE CR opened at $160.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $161.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.32. 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 has a 52-week low of $121.07 and a 52-week high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released 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 period last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

About Crane

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.