D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 191,405 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 24.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 581,358 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 191,405 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in CRH were worth $43,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CRH by 3,384.4% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,781,697 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $469,022,000 after buying an additional 6,587,066 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in CRH by 35,497.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,082,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,455,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,682 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in CRH by 2,199.7% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,342,432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $288,383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197,092 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 1,095.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,275,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $282,512,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRH by 103.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,642,729 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $348,112,000 after buying an additional 2,365,589 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CRH has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.70.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock opened at $92.53 on Friday. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $51.59 and a twelve month high of $94.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $85.58 and its 200-day moving average is $82.07.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.85. The company had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.16 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.7%.

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.