Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 441,250 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 18,188 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.77% of Crane worth $69,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CR. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth about $515,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $27,902,000 after purchasing an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in shares of Crane by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 123,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,972,000 after purchasing an additional 51,342 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Crane by 673.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,172 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,913,000 after buying an additional 71,544 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Crane stock opened at $152.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. Crane has a 12 month low of $110.49 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.