Madison Asset Management LLC Makes New $246,000 Investment in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,800 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRH. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in CRH by 142,350.0% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 17,094 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 17,082 shares during the period. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,878,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,781,004,000 after buying an additional 4,687,345 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in CRH by 27.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the construction company's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CRH shares. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.82.

CRH Trading Up 3.0%

CRH traded up $2.90 on Friday, reaching $100.07. The stock had a trading volume of 8,790,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,437,300. The company has a market cap of $67.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a 12-month low of $74.03 and a 12-month high of $110.97. The business's 50-day moving average price is $93.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.66.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.17%. As a group, analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.52%.

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.