Crane $CR Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 38,576 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.50% of Crane worth $52,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,651,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 37,026 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Crane by 86.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,413 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,119,000 after acquiring an additional 63,401 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Crane by 5,159.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 232,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,216,000 after purchasing an additional 228,424 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,006,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:CR opened at $198.77 on Friday. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $214.31. The stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.67.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $572.16 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on CR shares. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $182.22 per share, for a total transaction of $27,333.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 220 shares in the company, valued at $40,088.40. This trade represents a 214.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jennifer Pollino acquired 1,500 shares of Crane stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $184.29 per share, with a total value of $276,435.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 1,500 shares in the company, valued at $276,435. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders acquired 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470. 2.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Crane

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.