Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Reduces Stake in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• CRH's Holdings Adjustment: Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its position in CRH Plc by 12.8%, selling 462,769 shares in the first quarter, now owning 3,144,490 shares.
• Institutional Investment Trends: While some investors like Lord Abbett trimmed their stakes, Vanguard Group increased its holdings by 62.8%, owning over 63 million shares valued at approximately $5.6 billion.
• Analysts' Ratings: CRH has received various ratings; DA Davidson lowered its target price to $105, while Royal Bank of Canada raised it to $112, showing mixed sentiment among analysts.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,144,490 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 462,769 shares during the period. CRH makes up about 1.0% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.47% of CRH worth $276,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CRH in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 86.7% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CRH Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:CRH traded up $1.3790 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $112.9090. 1,370,851 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,593,300. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $76.75 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $96.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.41.

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

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is 23.22%.

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.