Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 5,847 Shares of Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 189,278 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,847 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Crane NXT were worth $11,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Crane NXT in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Crane NXT by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane NXT by 985.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane NXT in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Crane NXT in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CXT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northland Securities cut shares of Crane NXT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Northland Capmk cut Crane NXT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.33.

Crane NXT Stock Performance

Shares of CXT opened at $52.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.40 and a 200-day moving average of $58.00. Crane NXT, Co. has a one year low of $50.23 and a one year high of $67.01. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.32.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. Crane NXT had a return on equity of 24.08% and a net margin of 12.38%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane NXT Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Crane NXT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Crane NXT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.32%.

Crane NXT Profile

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions.