Gates Capital Management Inc. Has $161.63 Million Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Gates Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,746,995 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 154,767 shares during the period. CRH comprises about 3.0% of Gates Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Gates Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.26% of CRH worth $161,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $1,391,245,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in CRH by 13.0% in the fourth 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CRH by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437,868 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in CRH by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $436,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978,225 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in CRH by 931.3% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,977,992 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $183,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786,189 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $112.58.

CRH Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CRH traded down $0.55 on Thursday, hitting $96.92. The company had a trading volume of 312,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,793,986. CRH plc has a 1-year low of $71.18 and a 1-year high of $110.97. The stock has a market cap of $65.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.27.

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). CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. The business had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. CRH's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.52%.

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.