CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Bought by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,793 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,496 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in CRH were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,358,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of CRH by 2,426.7% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,826,501 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $195,481,000 after buying an additional 2,714,634 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,484,901,000. Asio Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of CRH by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 54,015 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,736,000 after buying an additional 23,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $63,614,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of CRH stock traded up $1.30 on Thursday, hitting $73.35. 3,135,592 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,509,329. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.29. CRH plc has a 1-year low of $51.59 and a 1-year high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Vertical Research started coverage on CRH in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.11.

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.