Crh Plc $CRH Shares Sold by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management cut its CRH position by 97.5% in the third quarter, selling 97,479 shares and retaining 2,508 shares worth approximately $205,000.
• CRH reported quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share, beating estimates of $2.02, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $10.78 billion.
• CRH shares opened at $83.18, near their 12-month low, despite a consensus analyst rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $126.50; the company also pays a $1.56 annualized dividend yielding about 1.9%.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC reduced its position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 97.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,508 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 97,479 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi boosted its holdings in CRH by 74.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,965,814 shares of the construction company's stock worth $627,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550,178 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 3.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,928,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $623,203,000 after purchasing an additional 216,822 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 6.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,831,618 shares of the construction company's stock worth $507,784,000 after purchasing an additional 297,309 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,336,754 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $245,460,000 after buying an additional 93,106 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,186,541 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $228,994,000 after buying an additional 477,242 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $83.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $55.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.80. Crh Plc has a 12 month low of $78.62 and a 12 month high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The construction company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $10.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 9.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is 27.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $118.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of CRH from $131.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded CRH from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.50.

CRH Company Profile

CRH plc is a global building materials company that supplies products and solutions used in residential, commercial and infrastructure construction. Its activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, cement and other construction materials, as well as value-added products such as precast concrete, architectural products and site-development solutions.

The company serves customers across North America and Europe, including contractors, construction companies, infrastructure developers, distributors and public-sector organizations.

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