Crane $CR Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Crane by 7.5%, acquiring an additional 3,357 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 47,878 shares valued at approximately $7.33 million.
• Crane's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $1.49 against the consensus estimate of $1.34, and revenue of $577.20 million, showing a 9.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield, payable on September 10th to investors of record by August 29th.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,878 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Crane worth $7,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,196 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Crane by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,037 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Crane by 0.5% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,326 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,960,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in Crane by 2.7% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 3,686 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CR. Bank of America upped their target price on Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price target on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.20.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR stock traded up $5.4760 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $194.1760. 342,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 310,563. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.76 and a 200 day moving average of $171.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $203.89. The company has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.15. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.