Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 214.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 352 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in CRH were worth $33,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CRH during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in CRH by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in CRH by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 668 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.64.

CRH Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of CRH stock opened at $90.64 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.74. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $71.18 and a twelve month high of $110.97.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. This is a positive change from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.51%.

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.