Capital World Investors Boosts Stake in Crane $CR

Capital World Investors grew its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,993,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 48,679 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 0.05% of Crane worth $552,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 289,020.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,855,409 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,448,773,000 after purchasing an additional 7,852,692 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth $198,509,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 917,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $169,282,000 after purchasing an additional 35,441 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 2.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 776,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $143,022,000 after purchasing an additional 17,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.1% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 736,943 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $139,938,000 after purchasing an additional 8,151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $226.33.

Crane Stock Down 0.1%

CR stock opened at $188.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. 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’s fifty day moving average is $179.76 and its 200 day moving average is $187.01. Crane has a one year low of $159.58 and a one year high of $214.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $672.74 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $177.38 per share, for a total transaction of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 370 shares in the company, valued at $65,630.60. This represents a 68.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Company Profile

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.