Baupost Group LLC MA Grows Holdings in CRH PLC $CRH

Key Points

• Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in Crh Plc by 2.0%, acquiring an additional 52,993 shares during the 1st quarter, making it the seventh largest position in their portfolio.
• Crh Plc reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.12, with revenues of $10.21 billion compared to estimates of $10.27 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend of $1.48 and a dividend yield of 1.3%.

Baupost Group LLC MA grew its position in CRH PLC (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,694,395 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,993 shares during the quarter. CRH makes up approximately 6.8% of Baupost Group LLC MA's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Baupost Group LLC MA owned 0.40% of CRH worth $237,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 2.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,357 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CRH by 236.0% in the first quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,438 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 36.6% in the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 4,311 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 22.5% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Groupe la Francaise raised its position in shares of CRH by 86.5% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,154,803 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $99,981,000 after purchasing an additional 535,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRH shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.64.

CRH Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:CRH traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.42. 4,026,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,572,665. The stock has a market cap of $76.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.26. CRH PLC has a 12 month low of $76.75 and a 12 month high of $114.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $99.04 and a 200 day moving average of $95.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.12). The business 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 last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CRH PLC will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.