Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Crane $CR

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,647 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,060 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $10,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 289,020.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,855,409 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,448,773,000 after purchasing an additional 7,852,692 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at $198,509,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Crane by 114.8% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 439,157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $80,866,000 after buying an additional 234,681 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Crane by 116.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 401,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,950,000 after buying an additional 215,815 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Crane by 84.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 431,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,300,000 after acquiring an additional 196,917 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other news, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $177.38 per share, for a total transaction of $26,607.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 370 shares in the company, valued at $65,630.60. The trade was a 68.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE CR opened at $188.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. Crane has a one year low of $159.58 and a one year high of $214.31. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.01.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $226.33.

About Crane

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.