Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in CRH Plc by 8.6% during Q1, now holding over 2.15 million shares, valued at approximately $189.5 million.
• CRH shares recently saw a 1.7% increase, with a current market cap of $76.97 billion and a PE ratio of 23.83.
• The company will pay a $0.37 quarterly dividend on September 24th, representing a 1.3% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 23.22%.

National Pension Service increased its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,154,053 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 170,702 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.32% of CRH worth $189,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 62.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,608,567,000 after buying an additional 24,591,538 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 1st quarter valued at about $597,888,000. 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 acquiring an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CRH by 195.0% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,052,011 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $268,485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in CRH by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $436,472,000 after buying an additional 1,978,225 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock traded down $0.96 during trading hours 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 firm has a market capitalization of $74.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a twelve month low of $76.75 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.13 and its 200 day moving average is $95.35.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. CRH's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CRH. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $112.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.