Crane $CR Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 193,648 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 13,837 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.34% of Crane worth $35,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Crane by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Crane by 217.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 279 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $182.22 per share, with a total value of $27,333.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,088.40. This trade represents a 214.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjay Kapoor purchased 2,814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $177.68 per share, with a total value of $499,991.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,991.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

Crane Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CR opened at $187.78 on Friday. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $214.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.53. The company has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Crane’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.255 per share. 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. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.32%.

About Crane

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.