Stratos Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 21.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,110 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,401 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $6,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRH. Norges Bank bought a new position in CRH in the 4th quarter worth $1,391,245,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in CRH by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,781,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,687,345 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in CRH by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,553,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437,868 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in CRH by 72.2% during 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 period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in CRH by 931.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,977,992 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $183,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786,189 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital began coverage on CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.82.

CRH Stock Down 0.5%

CRH traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $95.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,616,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,911,846. The company has a market cap of $64.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a 12-month low of $74.03 and a 12-month high of $110.97. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $93.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.50.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.17%. On average, analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.52%.

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.