Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Takes $917,000 Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,921 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of CRH by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,335 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in CRH by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CRH by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 971 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manitou Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CRH by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on CRH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.64.

CRH Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of CRH opened at $80.63 on Friday. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $71.18 and a twelve month high of $110.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.66.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.66%.

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.