Choate Investment Advisors Buys 905 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 38.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,245 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in CRH were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRH. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,055,354 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 515.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,148,708 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in CRH by 4,264.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in CRH by 10.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.25.

CRH Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $97.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $65.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a 12-month low of $71.18 and a 12-month high of $110.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.45 and its 200 day moving average is $96.21.

CRH Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 15.51%.

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.