1,427 Shares in Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Crane NXT by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,576,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,337,000 after buying an additional 336,765 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Crane NXT by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,930,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,303,000 after acquiring an additional 66,800 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Crane NXT by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,156,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,750,000 after acquiring an additional 72,992 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Crane NXT by 79.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,351,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,658,000 after purchasing an additional 597,537 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Crane NXT by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,229,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,579,000 after purchasing an additional 136,810 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.49% of the company’s stock.

Crane NXT Price Performance

Shares of CXT stock opened at $52.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.21 and its 200 day moving average is $55.88. Crane NXT, Co. has a 1-year low of $41.54 and a 1-year high of $67.01.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $330.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $318.46 million. Crane NXT had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 24.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Research analysts predict that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane NXT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Crane NXT’s payout ratio is presently 23.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Crane NXT from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Northland Capmk cut shares of Crane NXT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Northland Securities downgraded shares of Crane NXT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Crane NXT from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane NXT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.75.

About Crane NXT

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions.