Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Holdings Trimmed by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in Crh Plc by 1.3%, selling 3,100 shares, bringing its total ownership to 236,153 shares valued at approximately $20.77 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Massachusetts Financial Services Co., increased their stakes in CRH significantly during the same period.
• CRH recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.4%.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,153 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in CRH were worth $20,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CRH by 62.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 24,591,538 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of CRH by 43.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,108,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of CRH by 2.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 221,038 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of CRH by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,222,060 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $459,385,000 after acquiring an additional 504,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,813,580 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $445,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,303 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRH. Vertical Research raised CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $113.18.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH traded up $4.73 on Tuesday, hitting $112.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,540,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,652,752. Crh Plc has a 12 month low of $76.75 and a 12 month high of $112.19. The company has a market capitalization of $75.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50-day moving average is $94.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.95.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released 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). CRH had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 23.22%.

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.