American International Group Inc. Sells 9,253 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

American International Group Inc. decreased its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,143 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,253 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in CRH were worth $9,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CRH. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in CRH during the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CRH by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,822 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $362,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co bought a new stake in CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Trading Up 1.0 %

CRH stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.45. 2,736,239 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,384,762. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.40. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $51.59 and a fifty-two week high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Research analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRH has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of CRH from $109.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of CRH from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.90.

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.