ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys New Stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a new stake in CRH Plc, buying 13,247 shares valued at approximately $1.165 million in the first quarter, signaling growing interest from institutional investors.
• CRH reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $1.94, which was below the consensus estimate of $2.06, while revenue was down slightly compared to projections.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.4%, indicating ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,247 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 24,591,538 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 worth $906,424,000 after buying an additional 3,108,416 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in CRH by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock worth $436,472,000 after buying an additional 1,978,225 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in CRH by 931.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,977,992 shares of the construction company's stock worth $183,004,000 after buying an additional 1,786,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,813,580 shares of the construction company's stock worth $445,352,000 after buying an additional 1,458,303 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRH. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $112.00 price objective (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $113.18.

CRH Trading Up 4.4%

CRH stock traded up $4.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.15. The company had a trading volume of 7,540,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,650,357. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $76.75 and a 1 year high of $112.19. The company has a market capitalization of $75.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.95.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 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 business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is 23.22%.

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.