Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires Shares of 53,541 CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 53,541 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,015,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRH. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in CRH in the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,172,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRH by 211.8% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 26,276 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in CRH by 2,426.7% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,826,501 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $195,481,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,634 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in CRH during the 1st quarter worth $4,041,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CRH in the 1st quarter worth $1,277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com lowered CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson increased their target price on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.70.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $90.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $80.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.83. CRH plc has a 12-month low of $51.59 and a 12-month high of $91.02.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.7%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.97%.

CRH Company 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.