Boston Partners Acquires 493,796 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Key Points

• Boston Partners has increased its stake in CRH Plc by 5.9%, now holding 8,822,801 shares valued at approximately $775 million, making it the firm's 20th largest position.
• Vanguard Group Inc. has significantly raised its position in CRH by 62.8% and now owns over 63.7 million shares, valued at around $5.6 billion, while other hedge funds have also adjusted their stakes in the stock.
• Analyst ratings for CRH show a consensus of "Buy" with an average price target of $113.18, and mixed earnings results highlighted a slight EPS miss against estimates during the recent quarter.

Boston Partners increased its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,822,801 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 493,796 shares during the period. CRH makes up 0.9% of Boston Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Boston Partners owned 1.31% of CRH worth $775,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in CRH by 5.0% in the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in CRH by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 755 shares of the construction company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in CRH by 4.4% during the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 3,074 shares of the construction company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CRH by 1.7% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 8,196 shares of the construction company's stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in CRH by 0.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,257 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,342,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRH Price Performance

CRH traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $110.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,780,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,672,656. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $96.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a 1-year low of $76.75 and a 1-year high of $113.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued 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 (DPR) is presently 23.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CRH shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.18.

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.