Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 243,802 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 87.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 521,233 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 243,802 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of CRH worth $45,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new position in CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $13,878,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,781,004,000 after acquiring an additional 4,687,345 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of CRH by 43.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $906,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of CRH by 27.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exane Asset Management raised its position in shares of CRH by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Exane Asset Management now owns 226,087 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,889,000 after purchasing an additional 41,013 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.82.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE CRH opened at $95.53 on Friday. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $74.03 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.80.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The company had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 23.52%.

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.