Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 337 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,937 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Crane were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Crane by 0.3% in the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,038 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Crane by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 81.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 1.3% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Crane by 29.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of Crane stock opened at $182.08 on Friday. Crane has a 52 week low of $102.80 and a 52 week high of $188.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $164.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.01.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

Crane Company 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.