Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stock Position in Crane $CR

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 312,597 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 94,664 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.54% of Crane worth $57,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the second quarter worth about $190,533,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Crane by 5,159.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 232,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,216,000 after purchasing an additional 228,424 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 299.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 234,131 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $43,876,000 after purchasing an additional 175,554 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 117.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 216,314 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,076,000 after buying an additional 116,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 440,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $67,524,000 after buying an additional 84,278 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Stock Up 2.1%

CR stock opened at $210.17 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.30. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $213.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $589.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.54 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-5.950 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Crane’s payout ratio is 14.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $235.00 price objective on Crane in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. CJS Securities upgraded Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Crane from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crane has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.83.

Crane News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Crane this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat and FY?2025 guidance — Crane reported $1.64 EPS vs. $1.46 expected and revenue of $589.2M vs. $578.5M, with a net margin ~13% and ROE ~24%. Management set FY?2025 EPS guidance of $5.75–$5.95, which supports the bullish reaction. Earnings and company profile
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/momentum backdrop — stock is trading above its 50?day and 200?day moving averages and near its 52?week high, helping momentum buyers and funds that follow trend or breakout rules.
• Neutral Sentiment: Representative Elijah Crane bills (unrelated to the company) — two recently filed bills (H.R.6959 and H.R.6941) concern a Congressional Gold Medal and a geoengineering study; these are political items tied to a person named Crane and not the company, so unlikely to affect CR stock. H.R.6959 H.R.6941
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/press items using the word “crane” — recent headlines (Yongmao tower-crane legal updates, construction crane incidents, SpaceX inspection story) concern other firms or generic equipment incidents and are not about Crane Co.; they may influence sector sentiment for specialized crane/equipment makers but are not direct drivers for CR. Yongmao update SpaceX/OSHA story
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and liquidity considerations — CR trades at a mid?20s PE (~27.8) with a PEG ~1.9; while growth/ROE justify some premium, the stock’s price near its high and slightly below?average volume today raises the risk of short?term profit taking if market sentiment shifts.

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.