Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 342,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,204 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.60% of Crane NXT worth $19,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Crane NXT by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,443,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,981,000 after purchasing an additional 22,041 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Crane NXT by 2.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,218,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,372,000 after buying an additional 33,664 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Crane NXT by 93.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,135,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,716,000 after buying an additional 548,155 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Crane NXT by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,084,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,626,000 after buying an additional 33,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Crane NXT by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,000,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,157,000 after acquiring an additional 60,468 shares in the last quarter. 77.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane NXT Stock Performance

CXT opened at $58.20 on Friday. Crane NXT, Co. has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $64.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $58.08 and its 200-day moving average is $58.21.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $403.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.44 million. Crane NXT had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 12.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane NXT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Crane NXT’s payout ratio is 20.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Crane NXT from $96.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W raised Crane NXT to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Crane NXT from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

About Crane NXT

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.