Crh Plc $CRH Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund has reduced its stake in CRH Plc by 55.7%, now holding 80,500 shares valued at approximately $7.08 million.
• CRH reported its quarterly earnings with $1.94 earnings per share, which was below analysts' expectations of $2.06, alongside a revenue of $10.21 billion.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share has been declared, with a payout ratio of 23.22% and an annual yield of 1.3% for stockholders on record as of August 22nd.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 55.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,500 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 101,100 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in CRH were worth $7,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CRH by 62.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,108,416 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in CRH by 2.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in CRH by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,822,801 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $775,349,000 after purchasing an additional 493,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CRH in the 1st quarter valued at about $597,888,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Trading Down 2.3%

CRH traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $109.88. 1,887,230 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,589,654. Crh Plc has a 12-month low of $76.75 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.89 and a 200 day moving average of $95.53. The firm has a market cap of $73.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.12). CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%.The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. CRH's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 23.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $112.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $113.18.

About CRH

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.