First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stock Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,572 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,725 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in CRH were worth $6,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in CRH during the third quarter worth about $3,581,000. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new stake in CRH in the 3rd quarter valued at $417,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in CRH during the third quarter worth $209,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the third quarter valued at $440,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of CRH by 168.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 22,089 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 13,868 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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 research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.36.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH traded down $4.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.11. 2,032,113 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,598,946. CRH plc has a one year low of $71.18 and a one year high of $110.97. The company has a market cap of $63.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.14.

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

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. CRH's payout ratio is 22.66%.

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.