Crane $CR Shares Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Crane were worth $2,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 989,002 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,496,000 after acquiring an additional 12,505 shares during the last quarter. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC lifted its holdings in Crane by 117.3% during the 1st quarter. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC now owns 937,237 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $143,566,000 after buying an additional 505,983 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Crane by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 842,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $129,011,000 after buying an additional 44,360 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in Crane by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 776,038 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $118,873,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Crane by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 679,768 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $104,127,000 after buying an additional 130,218 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $175.21 on Friday. Crane has a 52 week low of $127.04 and a 52 week high of $203.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $186.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.70 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.20.

Insider Activity at Crane

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.74, for a total value of $4,007,257.34. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 33,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,461,801.24. This trade represents a 38.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Crane

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.