Crane $CR Stock Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,833 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 53,077 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.57% of Crane worth $67,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its stake in Crane by 1,652.8% during the 1st quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 223,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $38,174,000 after acquiring an additional 210,502 shares in the last quarter. Congruence Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter worth $18,604,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Crane by 98.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 202,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,550,000 after acquiring an additional 100,157 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 61.8% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 248,087 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,423,000 after purchasing an additional 94,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 497.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 90,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,675,000 after purchasing an additional 75,482 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Tullis sold 400 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.38, for a total value of $82,152.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,212.98. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CR traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $209.06. 418,812 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 481,993. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.02. Crane has a 52 week low of $159.58 and a 52 week high of $230.50.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Crane had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.050 EPS. Analysts predict that Crane will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.2550 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Crane from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Crane in a report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.00.

About Crane

Crane Company (NYSE: CR) is a diversified industrial technology company that develops and manufactures highly engineered products and solutions for aerospace, industrial, process flow and other specialized markets. The company serves customers that require products designed for demanding operating environments, including applications involving the movement and control of fluids.

Crane’s businesses include aerospace and electronics products, process flow equipment and engineered materials.