Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 27,934 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,981 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,934 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in CRH were worth $18,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,781,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,687,345 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CRH by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,624,719,000 after acquiring an additional 145,101 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in CRH by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,553,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437,868 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter worth $1,391,245,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in CRH by 43.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,108,416 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE CRH traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.07. 8,790,491 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,437,300. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $74.03 and a 1 year high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.17%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. CRH's payout ratio is currently 23.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRH has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.82.

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.