Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Sold by PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.

Key Points

• PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its stake in CRH Plc by 23.3%, owning 193,640 shares valued at approximately $17 million, making it the company's second largest holding.
• Several large investors have adjusted their stakes, with notable increases from Diversify Advisory Services LLC (up 5%) and Covestor Ltd (up 20.4%).
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.4%, with dividends payable on September 24th.

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 23.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,640 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 58,730 shares during the quarter. CRH accounts for approximately 6.7% of PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in CRH were worth $17,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CRH by 62.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,755,468 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,608,567,000 after acquiring an additional 24,591,538 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of CRH by 43.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,303,788 shares of the construction company's stock worth $906,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of CRH by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock worth $436,472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,978,225 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of CRH by 931.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,977,992 shares of the construction company's stock worth $183,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786,189 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRH by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,813,580 shares of the construction company's stock worth $445,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,303 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH traded up $2.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $109.56. The stock had a trading volume of 7,683,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,160,455. The company has a market capitalization of $74.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.26. Crh Plc has a twelve month low of $76.75 and a twelve month high of $110.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.95.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 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 company had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. CRH's payout ratio is presently 23.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Vertical Research raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.