Artemis Investment Management LLP Trims Stock Position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lowered its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 90.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,305 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 501,544 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in CRH were worth $4,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in CRH by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 755 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the construction company's stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CRH by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the construction company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 8,196 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in CRH by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,257 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CRH. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.18.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $93.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,747,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,940,640. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $92.98 and its 200-day moving average is $94.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.28.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 15.88%. Analysts forecast that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. CRH's payout ratio is 23.52%.

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.