Financial Advocates Investment Management Takes Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,686 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in CRH by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,419 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in CRH by 72.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 2.1% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CRH by 3.2% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 2.7% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH opened at $95.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.46. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $56.39 and a fifty-two week high of $96.82.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $9.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CRH plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson increased their price target on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.00.

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.