Nuveen LLC Purchases New Holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in CRH Plc, purchasing 6,796,497 shares valued at approximately $597.9 million, representing about 1.01% ownership in the company.
• CRH recently reported quarterly earnings, with $1.94 earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations of $2.06, and a revenue of $10.21 billion, slightly below the forecast of $10.27 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37, reflecting an annualized payout of $1.48 and a yield of 1.4%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,796,497 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $597,888,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.01% of CRH at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 24,591,538 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 43.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company's stock worth $906,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,830,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $776,818,000 after purchasing an additional 221,038 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 10.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,222,060 shares of the construction company's stock worth $459,385,000 after purchasing an additional 504,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,813,580 shares of the construction company's stock worth $445,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458,303 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 topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $112.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Vertical Research raised CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.18.

CRH Trading Up 4.4%

CRH stock traded up $4.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $112.15. 7,540,199 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,542,755. The stock has a market cap of $75.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a 1-year low of $76.75 and a 1-year high of $112.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.12). CRH had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.22%.

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.