67,386 Shares in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Acquired by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 67,386 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,813,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in CRH in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,484,901,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CRH during the fourth quarter worth about $1,014,454,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in CRH in the third quarter worth about $416,982,000. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its stake in CRH by 3,384.4% in the fourth 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. Finally, Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $395,583,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRH has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.90.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.42. 4,731,027 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,476,296. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $51.59 and a fifty-two week high of $88.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23.

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.