CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Sold by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. reduced its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,645 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in CRH were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in CRH by 515.7% during the 3rd 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 valued at $473,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,274,336 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CRH by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,329,796,000 after buying an additional 1,148,708 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 4,264.7% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,034,527 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,825 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of CRH by 10.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 826,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings 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 worth $231,206,000 after acquiring an additional 808,061 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

CRH Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE CRH opened at $94.63 on Thursday. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.61. The company has a market cap of $64.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is an increase from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. CRH’s payout ratio is 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.