Palestra Capital Management LLC Sells 71,562 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Palestra Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in CRH Plc by 4.9%, now holding approximately 1.39 million shares, which represents 4.8% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 62.5% of CRH's stock, with several new positions acquired in the last quarter, indicating a growing interest from hedge funds.
• CRH recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, with a 1.3% dividend yield, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Palestra Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,389,394 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 71,562 shares during the quarter. CRH accounts for 4.8% of Palestra Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Palestra Capital Management LLC owned 0.21% of CRH worth $122,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in CRH by 62.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,608,567,000 after purchasing an additional 24,591,538 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of CRH during the first quarter worth $597,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $906,424,000 after buying an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of CRH by 58,695.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,830,994 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $249,043,000 after buying an additional 2,826,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in 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 period. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE CRH traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $114.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,090,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,432,766. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.31. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $76.75 and a fifty-two week high of $114.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released its 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRH. DA Davidson restated 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. Vertical Research raised CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $112.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $116.00.

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.