Ninety One North America Inc. Takes Position in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Ninety One North America bought a new Q4 stake of 43,670 CRH shares (about $5.45M), while other institutions (notably KBC, Mirae and Ninety One SA) also increased positions, leaving roughly 62.5% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• CRH missed expectations in the most recent quarter with EPS of $1.52 vs. $2.20 expected and revenue of $9.42B vs. $11.15B expected, though revenue was up 6.2% year‑over‑year; the stock opened at $117.17 and was up ~2.5%.
• The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.39 ($1.56 annualized, ~1.3% yield), and analysts remain broadly positive—MarketBeat shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $139.54.

Ninety One North America Inc. purchased a new stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 43,670 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $5,450,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of CRH by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd now owns 138,274 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $17,257,000 after acquiring an additional 62,191 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CRH by 680.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 119,237 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,881,000 after acquiring an additional 103,962 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of CRH by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,000 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of CRH by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 46,027 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,744,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of CRH by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,147,605 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $143,221,000 after acquiring an additional 20,060 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Stock Up 2.5%

CRH stock opened at $117.17 on Friday. Crh Plc has a 12 month low of $81.60 and a 12 month high of $131.55. The firm has a market cap of $78.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.35. The company's 50-day moving average price is $112.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.98.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.20 by ($0.68). CRH had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. CRH's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. CRH's payout ratio is 28.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CRH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CRH from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of CRH from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $120.00 price target on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.54.

CRH Company Profile

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH's core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.

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