Ninety One UK Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in CRH Plc by 13.1% during Q2, owning approximately 3.14 million shares valued at $288.57 million by the end of the reporting period.
• Several other hedge funds also boosted their positions in CRH, with Vanguard Group raising its stake by 62.8%, now owning over 63.75 million shares valued at around $5.61 billion.
• CRH has received multiple ratings upgrades from analysts, including a "strong-buy" rating from Jefferies Financial Group, with an average price target set at $117.00.

Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 13.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,143,490 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 364,319 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.47% of CRH worth $288,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,608,567,000 after acquiring an additional 24,591,538 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of CRH by 43.2% in 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of CRH by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,830,489 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $776,818,000 after acquiring an additional 221,038 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of CRH by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,822,801 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $775,349,000 after acquiring an additional 493,796 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of CRH by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,979,264 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $689,009,000 after acquiring an additional 843,806 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRH has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, September 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $117.00.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $119.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $80.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.31. Crh Plc has a 1-year low of $76.75 and a 1-year high of $121.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $109.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.94.

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

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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