Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Trims Position in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC reduced its holdings in CRH Plc by 22.0%, selling 41,996 shares and now owns 148,642 shares valued at approximately $13.1 million.
• CRH's stock has an average rating of "Buy" with a consensus target price of $113.18, following several analyst upgrades, including a "strong-buy" rating by Vertical Research.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, with a current annualized dividend yield of 1.3%.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC reduced its position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 22.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,642 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 41,996 shares during the quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $13,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRH. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 86.7% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRH. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $114.64.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,532,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,526,953. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $76.75 and a 1 year high of $114.40. The firm has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $100.01 and its 200 day moving average is $96.11.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.12). CRH had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.22%.

CRH 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.