UBS Group AG Trims Position in Crane $CR

UBS Group AG trimmed its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 332,543 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 235,733 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Crane were worth $61,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 57.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE CR opened at $170.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.15. Crane has a 52-week low of $159.58 and a 52-week high of $214.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crane currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, Director Susan D. Lynch bought 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $177.38 per share, with a total value of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,630.60. This trade represents a 68.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 2,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.95, for a total value of $543,851.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,639 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,546.05. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

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.