Strategic Global Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Strategic Global Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 93.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,516 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 37,805 shares during the quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of CRH by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,781,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,687,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CRH by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,624,719,000 after acquiring an additional 145,101 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in CRH by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,553,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437,868 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CRH in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,391,245,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in 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 worth $796,546,000 after acquiring an additional 826,758 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRH. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.58.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH traded down $1.06 on Friday, hitting $94.10. 5,235,921 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,809,492. CRH plc has a 12 month low of $71.18 and a 12 month high of $110.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $91.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. Equities analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. CRH's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.