Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Acquires 14,830 Shares of Crane $CR

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,804 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,830 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.19% of Crane worth $19,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the second quarter worth about $190,533,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Crane by 114.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 439,157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,866,000 after purchasing an additional 234,681 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 116.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 401,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,950,000 after purchasing an additional 215,815 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Crane by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 431,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,300,000 after purchasing an additional 196,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Crane by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 568,276 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $104,642,000 after buying an additional 186,060 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $224.00.

Crane Stock Performance

CR opened at $163.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.37. Crane has a 52-week low of $127.04 and a 52-week high of $214.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Max H. Mitchell acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $183.71 per share, for a total transaction of $183,710.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 410,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,443,634.57. This trade represents a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan D. Lynch bought 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $182.22 per share, for a total transaction of $27,333.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 220 shares in the company, valued at $40,088.40. This trade represents a 214.29% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders purchased 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.