BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stock Holdings in Crane $CR

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,159 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,433 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Crane were worth $9,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Crane by 289,020.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $198,509,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Crane by 114.8% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 439,157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,866,000 after buying an additional 234,681 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Crane by 116.2% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 401,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,950,000 after buying an additional 215,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Crane by 84.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 431,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,300,000 after buying an additional 196,917 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other Crane news, Director Susan D. Lynch bought 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $177.38 per share, with a total value of $26,607.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,630.60. The trade was a 68.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of CR opened at $192.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $180.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.11. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $159.58 and a fifty-two week high of $214.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $672.74 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CR. 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 objective for the stock from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $226.33.

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.