UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Buys 428,114 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,043,334 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 428,114 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $443,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,608,567,000 after acquiring an additional 24,591,538 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in CRH during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $597,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in CRH by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $906,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in CRH by 58,695.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,830,994 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $249,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in CRH by 195.0% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,052,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $268,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH stock opened at $110.74 on Wednesday. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $114.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $103.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.40. The company has a market capitalization of $74.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.31.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.27 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $112.00 price target (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Vertical Research raised CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $114.64.

About CRH

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.