ARS Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,497 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Crh Plc by 0.7%, holding about 363,867 shares, making it the firm's 6th largest position.
• In the 1st quarter, several major investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Massachusetts Financial Services, significantly increased their holdings in CRH, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• CRH recently posted earnings per share of $1.94, missing estimates and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37, with a yield of 1.3%.

ARS Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 363,867 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,497 shares during the quarter. CRH accounts for about 3.5% of ARS Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of CRH worth $33,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,608,567,000 after buying an additional 24,591,538 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 1st quarter worth $597,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of CRH by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company's stock worth $906,424,000 after buying an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 195.0% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,052,011 shares of the construction company's stock worth $268,485,000 after buying an additional 2,017,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of CRH by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock worth $436,472,000 after buying an additional 1,978,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of CRH traded up $2.5360 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.2560. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,965,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,818,760. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.79. Crh Plc has a twelve month low of $76.75 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $76.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

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

CRH Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CRH. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $112.00 price target (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $113.18.

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.