Machina Capital S.A.S. Invests $503,000 in Crane $CR

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,730 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $190,533,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,230 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $164,135,000 after buying an additional 4,744 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 1.1% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 736,943 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $139,938,000 after buying an additional 8,151 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Crane by 8.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 489,810 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $90,196,000 after buying an additional 37,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Crane by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 440,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,524,000 after acquiring an additional 84,278 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crane Trading Down 1.1%

CR opened at $187.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $192.02 and its 200-day moving average is $188.53. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year high of $214.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’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. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.32%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $182.22 per share, for a total transaction of $27,333.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 220 shares in the company, valued at $40,088.40. This represents a 214.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjay Kapoor bought 2,814 shares of Crane stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $177.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,991.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,991.52. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 5,464 shares of company stock worth $987,470 in the last 90 days. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

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.