Saudi Central Bank Buys 22,118 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

Saudi Central Bank raised its stake in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 89.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,858 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 22,118 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in CRH were worth $5,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 158.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,670 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 5,316 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,178 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in CRH by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 228,288 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 36,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in CRH by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 316,818 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CRH from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on CRH from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised CRH from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $140.57.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $94.19 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.33. Crh Plc has a one year low of $90.21 and a one year high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.19. CRH had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $10.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.51%.

CRH Company Profile

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.