USS Investment Management Ltd Increases Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,577 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,623 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in CRH were worth $13,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRH. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in CRH by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,962 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $144,605,000 after acquiring an additional 114,072 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRH by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,450,632 shares of the construction company's stock worth $226,732,000 after purchasing an additional 232,977 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 72,778 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,733,000 after purchasing an additional 12,076 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,335,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in CRH by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,547,826 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $235,725,000 after purchasing an additional 209,328 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $94.10. 5,235,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,818,081. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.43 and its 200-day moving average is $96.27. CRH plc has a 52 week low of $71.18 and a 52 week high of $110.97. The firm has a market cap of $63.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. CRH's payout ratio is currently 23.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CRH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. 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 objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CRH from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $112.58.

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.