Two Sigma Advisers LP Reduces Stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Two Sigma Advisers LP decreased its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,300 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 17,800 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in CRH were worth $20,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in CRH by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,962 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $144,605,000 after purchasing an additional 114,072 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CRH by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,450,632 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $226,732,000 after purchasing an additional 232,977 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in CRH by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 72,778 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,733,000 after purchasing an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $2,335,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in CRH by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,547,826 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $235,725,000 after purchasing an additional 209,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

CRH Stock Up 1.3%

CRH stock traded up $1.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,357,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,800,926. CRH plc has a one year low of $71.18 and a one year high of $110.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $91.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.22. The company has a market capitalization of $64.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. CRH's payout ratio is 23.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CRH from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.58.

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.