Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $83.39 Million Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 549,550 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 105,920 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.96% of Crane worth $83,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,533,000 after buying an additional 14,373 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Crane by 619.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $75,823,000 after acquiring an additional 430,201 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Crane by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,782,000 after purchasing an additional 29,538 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $137.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $161.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.88. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. 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 fifty-two week low of $128.50 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CR. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.12% 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.