Point72 Europe London LLP Reduces Stake in CRH PLC $CRH

Key Points

• Point72 Europe London LLP significantly reduced its stake in CRH Plc by 64.9% in the first quarter, now holding 196,284 shares valued at approximately $17.27 million.
• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CRH by 62.8%, representing a substantial growth in institutional investor interest, which now accounts for 62.50% of the stock ownership.
• CRH recently reported earnings of $1.94 per share, which missed analyst expectations, along with a net margin of 9.09% and a revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter.

Point72 Europe London LLP decreased its position in shares of CRH PLC (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 64.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,284 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 362,476 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP's holdings in CRH were worth $17,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of CRH in the first quarter worth $597,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of CRH by 43.2% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company's stock worth $906,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of CRH by 195.0% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,052,011 shares of the construction company's stock worth $268,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,484 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in CRH by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $436,472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,978,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Vertical Research raised CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.64.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.78. 2,369,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,522,181. The company has a market cap of $75.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.31. CRH PLC has a one year low of $76.75 and a one year high of $114.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.19.

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

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued 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%.

About CRH

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.