CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Stock Position Trimmed by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc cut its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,138 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in CRH were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in CRH by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,156,017 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,341,258,000 after buying an additional 9,055,354 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in CRH by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,329,796,000 after buying an additional 1,148,708 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in CRH by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,233 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,218,532,000 after buying an additional 618,786 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in CRH by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,609,451 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $796,546,000 after buying an additional 826,758 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CRH by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,985,356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $738,113,000 after buying an additional 165,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on CRH shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRH currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.25.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $95.99 on Wednesday. CRH plc has a one year low of $71.18 and a one year high of $110.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.25. The stock has a market cap of $64.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. This is a boost from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.51%.

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.