Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stock Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,690 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,559 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in CRH were worth $3,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CRH in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of CRH by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

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 note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.25.

CRH Stock Up 2.7 %

NYSE CRH opened at $98.78 on Thursday. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.65 and a 200-day moving average of $96.26. The stock has a market cap of $66.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. 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 is 15.51%.

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.