ING Groep NV Takes Position in Crane $CR

ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 28,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,164,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the second quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Crane by 57.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. lifted its stake in Crane by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $177.38 per share, for a total transaction of $26,607.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,630.60. The trade was a 68.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.33.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR opened at $192.93 on Tuesday. Crane has a twelve month low of $159.58 and a twelve month high of $214.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $180.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.21. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The company had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $672.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.35%.

Crane Profile

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.