CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Sold by Portside Wealth Group LLC

Portside Wealth Group LLC reduced its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,688 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in CRH by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 755 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in CRH by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CRH by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in CRH by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,175 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shelton Capital Management increased its stake in CRH by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 14,475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CRH. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $92.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.84. The stock has a market cap of $62.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. CRH plc has a 12 month low of $71.18 and a 12 month high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. On average, research analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. CRH’s payout ratio 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.