Soros Fund Management LLC Sells 93,085 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Soros Fund Management LLC lowered its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 493,989 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 93,085 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of CRH worth $45,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRH. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in CRH by 265.3% in the fourth quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 4,794 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 173.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,722,786 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,630 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in CRH by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,145,116 shares of the construction company's stock worth $383,506,000 after buying an additional 714,623 shares in the last quarter. III Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. III Capital Management now owns 56,534 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,231,000 after acquiring an additional 4,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $112.36.

CRH Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE CRH traded up $2.23 on Friday, reaching $98.51. The stock had a trading volume of 4,690,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,742,600. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.03. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97. The company has a market capitalization of $66.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.66%.

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.