Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC Purchases 505,983 Shares of Crane $CR

Key Points

• Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC significantly increased its stake in Crane by 117.3%, making it the firm's 4th largest position, accounting for approximately 11.3% of their portfolio.
• Crane reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.49, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS.
• Several analysts have upgraded their target prices for Crane, with UBS Group setting a new target at $230, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 117.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 937,237 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 505,983 shares during the quarter. Crane makes up 11.3% of Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC owned about 1.63% of Crane worth $143,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Crane by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 460,392 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $69,864,000 after purchasing an additional 79,481 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Crane by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,037 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Crane by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 14,087 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,408 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,532,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Crane by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 293,542 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $44,545,000 after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped 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. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.20.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $184.03. 232,921 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 311,451. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50 day moving average is $190.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.18. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $203.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $577.20 million during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Crane's dividend payout ratio is 15.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 33,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,461,801.24. This represents a 38.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

About Crane

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.