Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stock Holdings in Crane $CR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Crane holdings by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,026 shares and ending with 75,718 shares worth about $14 million.
• Crane shares were up 2.3% to $186.30, and the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.65 and revenue of $696.4 million, both above estimates.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.255 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Buy with a target price around $226.33.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,718 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 19,026 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.13% of Crane worth $13,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CR. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its position in Crane by 314.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 74,801 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $13,774,000 after purchasing an additional 56,768 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 8.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 489,810 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $90,196,000 after buying an additional 37,026 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 44.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 183,787 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $33,843,000 after buying an additional 56,324 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at $3,709,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 23.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 33,480 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,165,000 after buying an additional 6,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Crane Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Crane stock opened at $186.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $178.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.93. Crane has a 1 year low of $159.58 and a 1 year high of $214.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $672.74 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 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $177.38 per share, with a total value of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,630.60. The trade was a 68.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Crane from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Crane from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.33.

Crane Company Profile

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.

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