Royal Bank of Canada Sells 611,309 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,418,807 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 611,309 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.98% of CRH worth $1,241,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased 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 buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of CRH by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 505 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $112.58.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $98.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,834,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,797,964. CRH plc has a one year low of $71.18 and a one year high of $110.97. The company has a market capitalization of $66.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $91.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.