Crh Plc $CRH Stock Holdings Lifted by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Freedom Investment Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in CRH Plc, purchasing an additional 5,224 shares, which brought its total holdings to 7,438 shares valued at approximately $654,000.
• CRH recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, with an ex-dividend date on August 22nd, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on CRH shares, with a strong-buy rating from Vertical Research and an average price target of $113.18.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 236.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,438 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in CRH were worth $654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRH. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 349.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,354 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in CRH by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 45,805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,244,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in CRH by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,948 shares of the construction company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. III Capital Management increased its position in CRH by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. III Capital Management now owns 56,534 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 4,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in CRH by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,145,116 shares of the construction company's stock worth $383,506,000 after purchasing an additional 714,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CRH Price Performance

CRH traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $112.89. 3,532,118 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,527,298. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $100.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.11. The company has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $114.40.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.22%.

About CRH

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.