First Eagle Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 98.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,101 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter worth $1,014,454,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of CRH by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,106,296 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $560,933,000 after buying an additional 937,804 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of CRH by 3,384.4% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,781,697 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $469,022,000 after buying an additional 6,587,066 shares in the last quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter worth $395,583,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of CRH by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,176,538 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $288,097,000 after buying an additional 315,190 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stephens began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.90.

CRH Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRH traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,912,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,431,213. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.95. CRH plc has a 12-month low of $51.59 and a 12-month high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CRH plc will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23.

About CRH

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.