Swedbank AB Increases Stock Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 68.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 170,442 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,418 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in CRH were worth $15,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dupont Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,492,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CRH by 29.2% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,361 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group increased its position in shares of CRH by 10.5% during the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 11,683 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 621.0% in the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 53,286 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 45,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in CRH by 161.7% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 56,665 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,888,000 after purchasing an additional 35,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRH. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CRH from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC started coverage on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.42.

CRH Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CRH opened at $102.87 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.96. The stock has a market cap of $69.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29. CRH plc has a 52-week low of $61.51 and a 52-week high of $103.64.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.262 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. CRH’s payout ratio is currently 37.20%.

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.