Fiduciary Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Fiduciary Trust Co increased its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,002 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in CRH were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,781,004,000 after buying an additional 4,687,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,163,930 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,624,719,000 after buying an additional 145,101 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,437,868 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CRH during the fourth quarter worth about $1,391,245,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of CRH by 10.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Trading Up 0.8%

CRH stock opened at $94.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.43 and a 200-day moving average of $96.20. CRH plc has a 12-month low of $71.18 and a 12-month high of $110.97. The company has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The company had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that CRH plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. CRH’s payout ratio is 23.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRH has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $112.36.

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.