HighVista Strategies LLC Has $757,000 Stock Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

HighVista Strategies LLC lowered its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 9.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,100 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CRH by 336.4% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 336 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of CRH during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in CRH by 71.5% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in CRH in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in CRH during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE CRH opened at $92.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.78. CRH plc has a 52-week low of $51.59 and a 52-week high of $93.07.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $10.16 billion. On average, analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current 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 $0.35 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 29.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRH. Citigroup cut their price target on CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson increased their target price on CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company 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 report on Friday, August 16th. Stephens began coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.