CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 60.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,091,205 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 412,628 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.16% of CRH worth $94,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRH. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CRH by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, May 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.90.

CRH Price Performance

NYSE CRH traded up $1.99 on Friday, hitting $81.55. 2,793,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,184,585. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.50. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $51.59 and a twelve month high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. On average, analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

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

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.