Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Acquires 5,598 Shares of Crane $CR

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 15.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,808 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,598 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Crane worth $7,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the second quarter worth approximately $190,533,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 5,159.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 232,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,216,000 after purchasing an additional 228,424 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Crane by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 431,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,300,000 after purchasing an additional 196,917 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Crane by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 568,276 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $104,642,000 after buying an additional 186,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Crane by 293.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,901 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $29,444,000 after buying an additional 119,294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 2,693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.95, for a total value of $543,851.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,546.05. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Max H. Mitchell purchased 1,000 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $183.71 per share, for a total transaction of $183,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 410,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,443,634.57. This represents a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Down 4.4%

NYSE:CR opened at $171.42 on Monday. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year high of $214.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $197.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.34. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.16 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. CJS Securities upgraded Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price objective on Crane and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $224.00.

Crane 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.