AQR Capital Management LLC Has $8.74 Million Stock Holdings in Crane $CR

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC holds an $8.74 million stake in Crane, increasing its position by 9.5% in the first quarter by acquiring an additional 5,065 shares.
• Several institutional investors have shown increased interest in Crane, with Royal Bank of Canada and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company significantly boosting their stakes during the same quarter.
• Cranes’ stock has received multiple "buy" ratings from analysts, with price targets increasing to as high as $230.00, indicating strong confidence in the company's growth potential.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,577 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 5,065 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Crane worth $8,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the first quarter valued at $76,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Crane by 31.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 569 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Crane by 84.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 687 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the first quarter valued at $105,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR traded down $0.28 on Monday, hitting $182.71. The stock had a trading volume of 275,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,592. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $203.89. 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 market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $190.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.93.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CR. Bank of America increased their price objective on Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crane has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.74, for a total value of $4,007,257.34. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 33,526 shares in the company, valued at $6,461,801.24. This represents a 38.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Crane Profile

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.