CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Stake Lessened by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,056 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,704 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $2,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRH by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,962 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $144,605,000 after buying an additional 114,072 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 32,557 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,012,000 after buying an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CRH by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,253 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,151,000 after buying an additional 5,610 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of CRH by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 72,778 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,733,000 after buying an additional 12,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of CRH by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,484,746 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,206,000 after buying an additional 808,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CRH shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. HSBC started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.75.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $100.26 on Friday. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97. The company has a market cap of $68.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.97 and a 200-day moving average of $94.63.

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.