Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 3,185 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CRH plc by 3.6% during the first quarter, owning a total of 91,024 shares valued at $8 million.
• Institutional investors own 62.50% of CRH shares, with Vanguard Group significantly increasing its holdings by 62.8% to approximately 63.8 million shares.
• CRH reported a net margin of 9.09% in its latest quarterly earnings, missing EPS estimates and achieving a revenue of $10.21 billion.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,024 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,185 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CRH were worth $8,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of CRH during the 1st quarter valued at about $744,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of CRH by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $906,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of CRH by 100.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 452,776 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,318,000 after purchasing an additional 226,602 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CRH by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of CRH by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,154,053 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $189,492,000 after purchasing an additional 170,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 price objective (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $114.64.

CRH Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of CRH traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $110.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,179,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,441,367. The firm has a market cap of $74.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.31. Crh Plc has a 1-year low of $76.75 and a 1-year high of $114.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.30.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

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