Crane $CR Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Crane by 11.2%, owning 443,624 shares valued at approximately $67,954,000 after selling 56,032 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple financial analysts have increased their target prices for Crane, with Deutsche Bank setting a new target of $226.00 and four analysts issuing a "Buy" rating, indicating strong market confidence in the stock.
• Crane's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with an EPS of $1.49, up from $1.20 the previous year, and the company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share on September 10th.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 443,624 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 56,032 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.77% of Crane worth $67,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.20.

Crane Stock Performance

CR stock traded down $3.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $183.19. The company had a trading volume of 181,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,807. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $190.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.78. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year high of $203.89.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Crane Company 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.