Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Bought by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Crh Plc by 35.0%, owning approximately 568,882 shares valued at $50,045,000.
• CRH has received positive analyst attention, with several firms issuing "outperform" ratings and price targets ranging from $105.00 to $115.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37, representing an annualized yield of 1.4%, with a dividend payout ratio of 23.22%.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 568,882 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 147,525 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.08% of CRH worth $50,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Telemark Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,196,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in CRH by 12.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 551,996 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,559,000 after purchasing an additional 62,207 shares during the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the first quarter worth $250,000. CenterBook Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 85.3% in the first quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 20,928 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 9,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 10.7% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,222,060 shares of the construction company's stock worth $459,385,000 after acquiring an additional 504,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CRH. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $112.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Vertical Research raised CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $113.18.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH traded up $4.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $112.15. 7,540,199 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,542,755. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a twelve month low of $76.75 and a twelve month high of $112.19. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $94.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.07.

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

CRH Dividend Announcement

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