Exane Asset Management Grows Stock Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Exane Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 232,006 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,023 shares during the quarter. CRH comprises approximately 12.1% of Exane Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Exane Asset Management's holdings in CRH were worth $17,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in CRH by 71.5% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CRH shares. Citigroup cut their price target on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CRH from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CRH from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.70.

CRH Trading Up 1.6 %

CRH stock traded up $1.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.61. 3,909,666 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,228,845. The stock has a market cap of $58.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a one year low of $51.59 and a one year high of $91.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.31.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. As a group, analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.82%.

CRH 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.