CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Bought by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 380,840 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 25,430 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.06% of CRH worth $35,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in CRH by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,335 shares of the construction company's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of CRH by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 755 shares of the construction company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CRH by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the construction company's stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CRH by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in CRH by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 971 shares of the construction company's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on 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, Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $112.36.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.62. The company had a trading volume of 5,629,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,691,822. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $92.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.94. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. CRH's payout ratio is 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.