Blair William & Co. IL Has $300,000 Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,245 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in CRH were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at $1,391,245,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of CRH by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,329,796,000 after buying an additional 1,148,708 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CRH by 4,264.7% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,034,527 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,825 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 826,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of CRH by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,484,746 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,206,000 after acquiring an additional 808,061 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CRH Trading Down 6.6 %

CRH opened at $80.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.66.

CRH Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CRH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.64.

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.