Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $20.64 Million Investment in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 275,300 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,642,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRH. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,587,066 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in CRH by 35,497.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,082,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,455,000 after buying an additional 5,068,682 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in CRH by 36,503.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,838,972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $361,278,000 after buying an additional 4,825,752 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in CRH by 2,199.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,342,432 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $288,383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 1,095.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,275,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $282,512,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001,488 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of CRH opened at $88.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $86.60 and a 200 day moving average of $82.32. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $51.59 and a twelve month high of $94.14.

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

CRH Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRH. Truist Financial boosted their target price on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.70.

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.