Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on CRH (NYSE:CRH)

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 12,808 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 123% compared to the typical volume of 5,744 call options.

Institutional Trading of CRH

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new stake in CRH during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of CRH by 214.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 352 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CRH. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.45.

CRH Trading Down 1.5 %

CRH stock opened at $97.34 on Friday. CRH has a one year low of $71.18 and a one year high of $110.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.77.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.