First Trust Advisors LP Buys 194,088 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 120.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 355,255 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 194,088 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in CRH were worth $37,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its holdings in CRH by 1,835.3% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 329 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its holdings in CRH by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 304 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CRH shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on CRH from $149.00 to $165.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CRH from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $141.19.

CRH Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of CRH opened at $102.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.03. Crh Plc has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $131.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.32.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.65%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. CRH has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.600-6.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 28.89%.

About CRH

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH’s core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.