Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Sold by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 44.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,198 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 942 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Crane were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Crane by 328.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,765,000 after buying an additional 18,236 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $92,707,000 after acquiring an additional 3,188 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $103,748,000 after purchasing an additional 91,029 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased 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 worth $29,080,000 after purchasing an additional 8,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its stake in Crane by 27.9% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 4,495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $181.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $163.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.34. Crane has a one year low of $102.80 and a one year high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.00.

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.