Kennedy Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Crane $CR

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,937 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 9,627 shares during the quarter. Crane makes up 0.6% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.27% of Crane worth $28,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CR. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,944,444 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $542,190,000 after purchasing an additional 21,901 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Crane during the second quarter valued at about $190,533,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,230 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $164,135,000 after purchasing an additional 4,744 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Crane by 2.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 776,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $143,022,000 after purchasing an additional 17,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Crane by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 736,943 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $139,938,000 after purchasing an additional 8,151 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other Crane news, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $182.22 per share, with a total value of $27,333.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 220 shares in the company, valued at $40,088.40. This trade represents a 214.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 2,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.95, for a total transaction of $543,851.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,546.05. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 target price on shares of Crane and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.00.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR traded down $3.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.34. The company had a trading volume of 26,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,070. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $197.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.56. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The business had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Crane’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.255 dividend. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Crane’s payout ratio is 16.32%.

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.