American Century Companies Inc. Buys 2,365,589 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 103.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,642,729 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,365,589 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.68% of CRH worth $348,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new position in shares of CRH in the second quarter valued at about $19,156,000. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CRH in the second quarter valued at about $1,788,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRH in the second quarter valued at about $4,672,000. Exane Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 61.1% in the second quarter. Exane Asset Management now owns 232,006 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,298,000 after buying an additional 88,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 8,189.3% in the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,599,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $119,955,000 after buying an additional 1,580,527 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CRH Trading Down 0.4 %

CRH stock opened at $85.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $51.59 and a 1 year high of $91.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.76 and a 200-day moving average of $81.38.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. Research analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors 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 presently 29.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Citigroup dropped 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens began coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.70.

CRH 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.