Ascent Group LLC Buys 2,751 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its position in CRH plc by 48.8%, owning a total of 8,389 shares valued at $738,000 as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Vanguard Group also boosted its holdings by 62.8% in the same quarter, owning approximately 63.76 million shares worth about $5.61 billion.
• CRH reported earnings of $1.94 per share, missing expectations by $0.12, while revenue was $10.21 billion, slightly below estimates of $10.27 billion.

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 48.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,389 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CRH by 62.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,608,567,000 after acquiring an additional 24,591,538 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 43.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of CRH by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,830,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $776,818,000 after purchasing an additional 221,038 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of CRH by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,822,801 shares of the construction company's stock worth $775,349,000 after purchasing an additional 493,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of CRH by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,979,264 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $689,009,000 after buying an additional 843,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRH has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of CRH from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $116.00.

CRH Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE CRH traded down $1.03 on Friday, reaching $113.44. The company had a trading volume of 2,974,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,984. The company's fifty day moving average is $104.52 and its 200 day moving average is $96.69. Crh Plc has a 52-week low of $76.75 and a 52-week high of $114.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.12). CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%.The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

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

About CRH

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.