Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 63.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,623 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,267 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $230,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,734,871.60. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Crane Price Performance

CR opened at $177.58 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.16 and a 200 day moving average of $161.30. The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. 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 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $557.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.93 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Crane’s payout ratio is 15.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upgraded Crane from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.50.

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.