Voya Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Crane $CR

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,576 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 132,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,116,000 after purchasing an additional 17,295 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 18,447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,799,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,194,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.20.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.74, for a total transaction of $4,007,257.34. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 33,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,461,801.24. This represents a 38.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $181.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $189.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 12-month low of $127.04 and a 12-month high of $203.89.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.70 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS. Analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials.