Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 761,128 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,927,703 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 761,128 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.43% of CRH worth $271,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CRH. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of CRH by 214.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 352 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in CRH by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 505 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 236 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 have recently commented on CRH. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.58.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $97.80. 3,222,608 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,805,253. CRH plc has a 52 week low of $71.18 and a 52 week high of $110.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $91.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.27. The company has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The business had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. 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.