Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,610 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter worth about $1,391,245,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in CRH by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,781,004,000 after buying an additional 4,687,345 shares during the period. 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 worth $906,424,000 after buying an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CRH by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 2,437,868 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 worth $436,472,000 after buying an additional 1,978,225 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.97. 3,778,516 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,862,230. The company's 50-day moving average is $93.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.53. The company has a market capitalization of $63.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $74.03 and a 1 year high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 15.88%. Equities analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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 target price for the company. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.82.

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.