Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Crh Plc $CRH

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd cut its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,926 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,593 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings in CRH were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CRH during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,007,932,000. Eleva Capital SAS bought a new position in shares of CRH during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $250,562,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in CRH by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,803,346 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,175,347,000 after buying an additional 2,499,558 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of CRH by 45.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,031,903 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $553,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in CRH by 42.0% in the 2nd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 3,825,395 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $351,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of CRH from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CRH from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.87.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $125.71 on Friday. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $131.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.68). CRH had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 10.02%.The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CRH has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.600-6.050 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. CRH’s payout ratio is currently 20.11%.

About CRH

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH’s core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.