TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in CRH by 104.1% in Q4 to 32,046 shares worth about $4.01 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 62.5% of the stock.
• Analysts are broadly positive — the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $139.54, and several firms recently raised targets (UBS to $147, JPMorgan to $140, Morgan Stanley $139).
• CRH missed Q4 estimates (EPS $1.52 vs. $2.20 expected; revenue $9.42B vs. $11.15B) but raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (annual $1.56), while shares trade near $117 with a market cap of about $78.4B.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 104.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,046 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,344 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in CRH were worth $4,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 212 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. United Community Bank raised its position in CRH by 359.6% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 239 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in CRH by 1,835.3% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 329 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CRH from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.54.

CRH Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CRH opened at $117.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.35. Crh Plc has a 52 week low of $83.19 and a 52 week high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $9.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.02%.The business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.26%.

CRH 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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