AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 451,019 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management increased its stake in CRH Plc by 26.2%, owning approximately 2.17 million shares valued at $186.67 million after buying an additional 451,019 shares in Q1.
• Multiple hedge funds have also significantly increased their holdings in CRH, with Massachusetts Financial Services and HSBC Holdings increasing their stakes by 43.2% and 100.2%, respectively.
• CRH's recent earnings report indicated a projected EPS of $5.47 for the current year, despite a slight miss in the latest quarter's earnings compared to analyst estimates.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,173,805 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 451,019 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of CRH worth $186,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CRH by 62.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,608,567,000 after buying an additional 24,591,538 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CRH in the first quarter valued at $597,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in CRH by 43.2% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $906,424,000 after buying an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in CRH by 195.0% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,052,011 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $268,485,000 after buying an additional 2,017,484 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in CRH by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $436,472,000 after buying an additional 1,978,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH traded down $1.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.75. 1,179,091 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,441,367. The business's fifty day moving average is $103.09 and its 200 day moving average is $96.30. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $114.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.31.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.12). CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%.The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. CRH's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Vertical Research upgraded shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $114.64.

CRH Company Profile

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services.