Acadian Asset Management LLC Has $225.03 Million Stock Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,001,781 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 273,810 shares during the period. CRH accounts for about 0.7% of Acadian Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $225,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of CRH in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in CRH by 71.5% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in CRH in the second quarter worth $43,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of CRH from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered CRH from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.70.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE:CRH opened at $85.33 on Friday. CRH plc has a 12-month low of $51.59 and a 12-month high of $91.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.24.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that CRH plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd.

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.