Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 85,225 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 10.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 733,761 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 85,225 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CRH were worth $68,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in CRH by 33.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,156,017 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,341,258,000 after purchasing an additional 9,055,354 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 36,503.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,838,972 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $361,278,000 after acquiring an additional 4,825,752 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 515.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,103,194 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $473,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,274,336 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in CRH by 103.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,642,729 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $348,112,000 after acquiring an additional 2,365,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in CRH by 8,189.3% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,599,827 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $119,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580,527 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRH Stock Up 0.6 %

CRH opened at $93.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.81 and a 200-day moving average of $88.25. CRH plc has a 52 week low of $65.74 and a 52 week high of $104.23.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.262 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CRH. HSBC began coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.42.

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.