UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Acquires 1,484 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,502 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in CRH were worth $1,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CRH during the first quarter worth $376,000. Commerce Bank bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 1st quarter worth about $284,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in CRH by 948.0% in the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,090 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,290,000 after buying an additional 579,012 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in CRH by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 84,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Finally, Brentview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CRH by 5.3% during the first quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC now owns 45,846 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE CRH opened at $95.31 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $74.03 and a 1 year high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The business had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 23.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.