CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Sold by Zimmer Partners LP

Zimmer Partners LP trimmed its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,950 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 55,050 shares during the quarter. Zimmer Partners LP's holdings in CRH were worth $13,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of CRH by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,781,004,000 after buying an additional 4,687,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CRH by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,624,719,000 after buying an additional 145,101 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of CRH by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 2,437,868 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $1,391,245,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of CRH by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,609,451 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $796,546,000 after buying an additional 826,758 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CRH. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.58.

CRH Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $98.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $66.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $91.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.35. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 16.35%. On average, research analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. CRH's payout ratio is 23.52%.

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.

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