Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 28,166 Shares of Crane $CR

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,431 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 28,166 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Crane were worth $52,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Crane in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Crane by 57.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Crane from $201.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $238.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.83.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other news, CEO Max H. Mitchell purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $183.71 per share, for a total transaction of $183,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 410,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,443,634.57. This trade represents a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sanjay Kapoor purchased 2,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $177.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,991.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,991.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 5,464 shares of company stock worth $987,470. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Key Crane News

Here are the key news stories impacting Crane this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mario Gabelli continues to hold a large stake in Crane, which provides downside support from a long‑term institutional holder and can help stabilize the stock. Mario Gabelli continues to hold big position
• Neutral Sentiment: Crane Worldwide Logistics announced an expansion into Spain via acquisition — if this business is affiliated with Crane Co., it could be a growth positive; affiliation/financial impact is unclear from the report, so monitor for confirmatory details. Crane Worldwide Logistics expands into Spain through acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media stories referencing “crane” (wildlife — whooping crane shootings, nesting cameras — and insect “crane flies”) are generating attention but are unrelated to Crane Co.’s industrial business and unlikely to affect the stock materially. Example: whooping crane coverage. Whooping crane shot in Louisiana
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus trimmed its price target on Crane from $201 to $200 and reiterated a “hold” rating — a small downgrade that can weigh on sentiment given the lack of stronger near‑term growth headlines. Stifel price target cut to $200
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal stories about crane accidents (MIOSHA probe into a crane tipping incident; a separate suit tied to a hurricane crane accident) can raise sector‑level safety and liability concerns—monitor for any connection to Crane Co. products or services. MIOSHA launches investigation Lawsuit over hurricane crane accident

Crane Trading Down 0.1%

CR opened at $193.52 on Wednesday. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $135.47 and a fifty-two week high of $214.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $187.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.11.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.255 dividend. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.