CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 325.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,181 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 18,502 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in CRH were worth $2,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRH. FMR LLC grew its holdings in CRH by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,156,017 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,341,258,000 after purchasing an additional 9,055,354 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of CRH by 36,503.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,838,972 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $361,278,000 after buying an additional 4,825,752 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of CRH by 103.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,642,729 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $348,112,000 after buying an additional 2,365,589 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in shares of CRH by 8,189.3% in the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,599,827 shares of the construction company's stock worth $119,955,000 after buying an additional 1,580,527 shares during the period. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of CRH by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 4,226,602 shares of the construction company's stock worth $316,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,059 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRH. Barclays began coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of CRH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on CRH in a report on Monday, November 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $116.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.42.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $102.27. 2,656,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,080,760. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.35. CRH plc has a 12 month low of $62.45 and a 12 month high of $104.19. The company has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.262 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. CRH's payout ratio is currently 37.20%.

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.