South Dakota Investment Council Acquires New Holdings in Crane $CR

South Dakota Investment Council bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane in the second quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 57.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Crane by 63.4% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Crane by 217.0% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 279 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Crane stock opened at $198.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $197.69 and its 200-day moving average is $189.67. 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 has a 12-month low of $127.04 and a 12-month high of $214.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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. Equities analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.255 dividend. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CR. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 2,693 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.95, for a total value of $543,851.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,546.05. The trade was a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jennifer Pollino bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $184.29 per share, with a total value of $276,435.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,500 shares in the company, valued at $276,435. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470 in the last ninety days. Company 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.