Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Crane $CR

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 329,833 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 53,077 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Crane were worth $67,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Crane during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Crane by 403.2% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 624 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $187,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Crane during the 1st quarter worth approximately $198,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CR shares. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Crane from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Crane in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 price objective on Crane in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.00.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE CR traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $209.06. 418,812 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 481,993. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.63. Crane has a 1 year low of $159.58 and a 1 year high of $230.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.02.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.46 million. Crane had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 12.97%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.050 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Crane will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 17.83%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, Director James Tullis sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.38, for a total transaction of $82,152.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,021 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,212.98. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Crane

Crane Company (NYSE: CR) is a diversified industrial technology company that develops and manufactures highly engineered products and solutions for aerospace, industrial, process flow and other specialized markets. The company serves customers that require products designed for demanding operating environments, including applications involving the movement and control of fluids.

Crane’s businesses include aerospace and electronics products, process flow equipment and engineered materials.