Crh Plc $CRH Shares Sold by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. significantly reduced its stake in CRH Plc by 82.3%, selling 64,129 shares and leaving it with just 13,808 shares valued at approximately $1.215 million.
• The stock has received various ratings from analysts, with Royal Bank of Canada and others issuing an "outperform" or "overweight" ratings, alongside a consensus price target of $114.64.
• CRH recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3% and highlighting a dividend payout ratio of 23.22%.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 82.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,808 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 64,129 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in CRH were worth $1,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CRH by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,608,567,000 after acquiring an additional 24,591,538 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 valued at $906,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in CRH by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,830,489 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $776,818,000 after purchasing an additional 221,038 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of CRH by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,822,801 shares of the construction company's stock worth $775,349,000 after buying an additional 493,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 1st quarter valued at $597,888,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Monday, hitting $111.64. 2,681,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,458,458. The stock has a market cap of $75.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.31. Crh Plc has a 12 month low of $76.75 and a 12 month high of $114.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $102.68 and its 200 day moving average is $96.22.

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

CRH Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Two investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $114.64.

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.