Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 26,371 Shares of Crh Plc $CRH

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 317,998 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 26,371 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in CRH were worth $39,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,117,664 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,873,884,000 after acquiring an additional 14,623,673 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $295,798,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,825,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 9,615.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,386,928 shares of the construction company's stock worth $173,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,652 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 229.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,811,126 shares of the construction company's stock worth $217,154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of CRH stock opened at $114.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $111.47 and its 200 day moving average is $117.89. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $86.82 and a 1 year high of $131.55.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.20 by ($0.68). CRH had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.02%.The business had revenue of $9.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. CRH's dividend payout ratio is 28.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $139.00 price target on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of CRH from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CRH from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.54.

About CRH

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH's core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.

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