Select Equity Group L.P. Sells 25,378 Shares of Crane $CR

Key Points

• Select Equity Group L.P. reduced its stake in Crane by 3.4%, now holding 728,792 shares valued at approximately $111.6 million.
• Crane received several positive upgrades from analysts, with price targets increased by firms like Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, bringing the average consensus target to $222.20.
• The company recently declared a $0.23 quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 0.5%, reflecting a low dividend payout ratio of 15.31%.

Select Equity Group L.P. lowered its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 728,792 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 25,378 shares during the quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. owned approximately 1.27% of Crane worth $111,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Crane by 3.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Crane by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,037 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Crane by 0.5% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,326 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,960,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president owned 33,526 shares in the company, valued at $6,461,801.24. The trade was a 38.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CR. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crane has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.20.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR traded down $2.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $182.32. 437,064 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,625. Crane has a 12 month low of $127.04 and a 12 month high of $203.89. The firm has a market cap of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $190.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The company had revenue of $577.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $567.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue 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 expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued 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 is Friday, August 29th. Crane's payout ratio 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.