abrdn plc Raises Stock Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

abrdn plc increased its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,465,027 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,885 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in CRH were worth $134,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in CRH by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,419 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of CRH by 72.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 297 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 2.1% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 3.2% in the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 2.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $94.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $53.05 and a 1 year high of $94.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.02.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.7%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.00.

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.