Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stock Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 579.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 712,784 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 607,948 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in CRH were worth $53,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $1,014,454,000. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in CRH by 3,384.4% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,781,697 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $469,022,000 after acquiring an additional 6,587,066 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in CRH by 35,497.5% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,082,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,455,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,682 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in CRH by 2,199.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,342,432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $288,383,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CRH by 1,095.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,275,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $282,512,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001,488 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRH. Morgan Stanley raised CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stephens started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.70.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock opened at $85.18 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.14. CRH plc has a 52 week low of $51.59 and a 52 week high of $91.02.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The firm had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.16 billion. On average, research analysts expect that CRH plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd.

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.