Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 6,573 Shares of Crane $CR

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,008 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,573 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned 0.07% of Crane worth $7,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Crane by 289,020.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,855,409 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,448,773,000 after buying an additional 7,852,692 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth about $198,509,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,171,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 799,864 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $147,519,000 after acquiring an additional 368,816 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 4,412.6% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 240,836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,417,000 after purchasing an additional 235,499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, Director Susan D. Lynch bought 150 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $65,630.60. This represents a 68.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $219.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $189.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. Crane has a 52-week low of $159.58 and a 52-week high of $226.46. The stock has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $696.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $672.74 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.35%.

Crane Company 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.