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

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in Crane by 14.8% in Q2, now holding approximately 1.03% of the company valued at $112.99 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions in Crane, with Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosting its stake by 104.8% during Q1.
• Analysts are optimistic about Crane's stock, with several firms setting price targets as high as $230.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 595,071 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 103,705 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 1.03% of Crane worth $112,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in Crane during the first quarter valued at $76,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Crane by 31.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 569 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Crane by 84.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 687 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the first quarter valued at $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.74, for a total transaction of $4,007,257.34. Following the sale, the vice president owned 33,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,461,801.24. This represents a 38.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Crane Price Performance

CR stock opened at $178.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $203.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company's fifty day moving average price is $188.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.32.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.70 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is 15.31%.

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.

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