Banco Santander S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its position in Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,521 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,113 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in CRH were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 86.7% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRH. 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 on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.82.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $98.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $93.32 and its 200 day moving average is $94.81. Crh Plc has a 1 year low of $74.03 and a 1 year high of $110.97.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.17%. On average, equities analysts expect that Crh Plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Company 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.