Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 349,836 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,682,835 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 349,836 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of CRH worth $323,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRH. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CRH in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 214.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 352 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $114.18.

CRH Trading Up 2.7%

CRH traded up $2.45 on Friday, reaching $91.52. The stock had a trading volume of 6,725,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,083,247. The company has a market capitalization of $61.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28. Crh Plc has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.80 and a 200-day moving average of $94.61.

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

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.