Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,741 Crh Plc $CRH

Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,741 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in CRH in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,007,932,000. Eleva Capital SAS bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 2nd quarter valued at about $250,562,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of CRH by 24.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,803,346 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,175,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499,558 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of CRH by 45.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,031,903 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $553,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA raised its stake in CRH by 42.0% in the second quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 3,825,395 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $351,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Exane BNP Paribas raised shares of CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Longbow Research began coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, December 8th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on CRH from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on CRH from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.87.

CRH Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $122.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $124.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.66. Crh Plc has a 12-month low of $76.75 and a 12-month high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.27. CRH had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 9.30%.The company had revenue of $11.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. CRH’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. CRH has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.490-5.720 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

CRH Profile

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH’s core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.