28,000 Shares in Crane $CR Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 28,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,164,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Crane by 289,020.7% during the 4th 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter worth $198,509,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Crane by 114.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 439,157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,866,000 after purchasing an additional 234,681 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Crane by 116.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 401,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,950,000 after purchasing an additional 215,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Crane by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 431,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,300,000 after purchasing an additional 196,917 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE CR opened at $192.93 on Tuesday. Crane has a 52 week low of $159.58 and a 52 week high of $214.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.11.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $177.38 per share, for a total transaction of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,630.60. The trade was a 68.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.