175,500 Shares in Crh Plc $CRH Acquired by State of Michigan Retirement System

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System opened a new position in CRH in Q4, buying 175,500 shares valued at approximately $21.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment is positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.54, and several firms have recently upgraded or raised targets (e.g., Citigroup to $155).
• CRH's latest quarter missed estimates (EPS $1.52 vs. $2.20 expected; revenue $9.42B vs. $11.15B expected), but the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (annualized $1.56, yield ~1.3%).

State of Michigan Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 175,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $21,902,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CRH by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,117,664 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,873,884,000 after buying an additional 14,623,673 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in CRH during the 3rd quarter worth $295,798,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CRH during the 3rd quarter worth $209,825,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in CRH by 9,615.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,386,928 shares of the construction company's stock worth $173,089,000 after buying an additional 1,372,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in CRH by 229.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,811,126 shares of the construction company's stock worth $217,154,000 after buying an additional 1,260,558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CRH. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. DA Davidson set a $120.00 target price on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.54.

CRH Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $116.76 on Tuesday. Crh Plc has a twelve month low of $86.82 and a twelve month high of $131.55. The company's 50 day moving average is $111.62 and its 200 day moving average is $117.91. The company has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.35.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.20 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.02%.CRH's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.26%.

CRH Company Profile

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH's core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.

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