2,445 Shares in Crane (NYSE:CR) Purchased by Tyche Wealth Partners LLC

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,445 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Crane by 8.0% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,853 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Crane by 3.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,129,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Crane by 82.1% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Crane by 4.7% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 7,856 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Crane by 1.1% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,408,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.00.

Crane Price Performance

CR stock opened at $130.09 on Thursday. Crane has a 52-week low of $67.28 and a 52-week high of $139.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $129.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.20. 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 (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.09. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $532.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $519.55 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.