Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Crane $CR

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,215 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $4,063,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Crane by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 917,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $169,282,000 after buying an additional 35,441 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Crane by 92.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 113,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $21,198,000 after buying an additional 54,619 shares during the last quarter. Congruence Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at $18,604,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Crane by 210.3% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 54,594 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,336,000 after acquiring an additional 37,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 50,694 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,469,000 after acquiring an additional 10,136 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Crane in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Crane from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crane has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $238.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James L. L Tullis sold 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $138,150.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,219,725. The trade was a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Crane Stock Down 1.2%

CR stock opened at $206.50 on Friday. Crane has a 12 month low of $159.58 and a 12 month high of $230.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Crane had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.050 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.83%.

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.