Avanza Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB increased its holdings in CRH Plc by 6.1% in the second quarter, resulting in ownership of 65,747 shares valued at approximately $6,036,000.
• Vanguard Group Inc. significantly raised its stake in CRH by 62.8%, owning over 63 million shares valued at around $5.6 billion.
• Despite reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.94 for the quarter, CRH missed analysts' expectations, which were set at $2.06.

Avanza Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,747 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in CRH were worth $6,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 24,591,538 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in CRH during the first quarter worth approximately $597,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 58,695.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,830,994 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $249,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 195.0% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,052,011 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $268,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRH. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Vertical Research upgraded CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.00.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $113.05 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $106.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.06. Crh Plc has a one year low of $76.75 and a one year high of $114.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.31.

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

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. CRH's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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