Franklin Resources Inc. Has $1.71 Billion Stock Position in Crh Plc $CRH

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,682,872 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 326,656 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.04% of CRH worth $1,706,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 158.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,670 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,316 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,178 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 228,288 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 36,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of CRH by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 316,818 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $120.00 price target on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut CRH from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.54.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $105.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $109.57 and its 200-day moving average is $116.24. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $86.82 and a fifty-two week high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. CRH has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.600-6.050 EPS. Analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.89%.

About CRH

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.