CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Purchased by Baupost Group LLC MA

Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,226,602 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,517,059 shares during the quarter. CRH makes up about 8.7% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Baupost Group LLC MA owned 0.62% of CRH worth $316,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in CRH by 3,384.4% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,781,697 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $469,022,000 after purchasing an additional 6,587,066 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $438,455,000 after buying an additional 5,068,682 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in CRH by 2,199.7% in 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 buying an additional 3,197,092 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CRH by 1,095.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,275,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $282,512,000 after buying an additional 3,001,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in CRH by 2,426.7% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,826,501 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $195,481,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,634 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRH. Citigroup cut their price objective on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.70.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE:CRH opened at $92.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $63.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.79. CRH plc has a 52-week low of $51.59 and a 52-week high of $93.07.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The firm had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.72%.

CRH Company 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.