CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Position Lifted by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 142,350.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,094 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,082 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $1,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRH by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,624,719,000 after acquiring an additional 145,101 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in CRH by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,553,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437,868 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,391,245,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CRH by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,233 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,218,532,000 after purchasing an additional 618,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of CRH by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,609,451 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $796,546,000 after buying an additional 826,758 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective 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, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.64.

CRH Price Performance

CRH traded down $5.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $80.63. 8,909,533 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,550,208. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The company has a market cap of $54.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $98.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.66.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a positive change from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. CRH's payout ratio is presently 22.66%.

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.