CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 27.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,975,870 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 751,995 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.29% of CRH worth $148,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRH. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 1st quarter valued at about $71,172,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 211.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 26,276 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of CRH by 2,426.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,826,501 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $195,481,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,634 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,041,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,277,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH opened at $91.97 on Tuesday. CRH plc has a one year low of $51.59 and a one year high of $93.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.85.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.70.

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.