CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 188,060 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $17,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. FMR LLC lifted its stake in CRH by 33.4% during 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in CRH by 515.7% during the third 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 worth $473,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,274,336 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CRH by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,329,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,708 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in CRH by 4,264.7% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,034,527 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in CRH by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,609,451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $796,546,000 after purchasing an additional 826,758 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on 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 upgraded CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.25.

CRH Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:CRH opened at $97.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.09. The firm has a market cap of $65.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a 52-week low of $71.18 and a 52-week high of $110.97.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

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.