Machina Capital S.A.S. Reduces Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Machina Capital S.A.S. decreased its position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 36.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,938 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,458 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in CRH were worth $549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRH. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of CRH by 33.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,156,017 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,341,258,000 after acquiring an additional 9,055,354 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings 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. raised its position in CRH by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,329,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,708 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in CRH by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,609,451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $796,546,000 after buying an additional 826,758 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 808,061 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRH shares. HSBC began coverage on CRH in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.45.

CRH Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of CRH opened at $97.34 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.84. CRH plc has a 52 week low of $71.18 and a 52 week high of $110.97. The stock has a market cap of $66.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 20.87%.

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.