Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Trims Holdings in Crh Plc $CRH

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in CRH Plc by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, resulting in 178,550 shares valued at approximately $16.95 million.
• In the 1st quarter, several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in CRH, with Vanguard Group raising its holdings by 62.8% to over 63 million shares.
• CRH recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, reflecting a 1.3% yield and a payout ratio of 23.22%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,550 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,760 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $16,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,108,416 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 221,038 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in CRH by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,822,801 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $775,349,000 after buying an additional 493,796 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in CRH by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,979,264 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $689,009,000 after buying an additional 843,806 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRH Stock Up 0.5%

CRH stock opened at $113.05 on Monday. Crh Plc has a 52 week low of $76.75 and a 52 week high of $114.83. The company has a market capitalization of $76.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.05.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.27 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 15.68%. CRH's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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, September 24th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. CRH's payout ratio is presently 23.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on CRH from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Vertical Research upgraded CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 price objective (up previously from $108.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $116.00.

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.

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