CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Shares Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,916 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in CRH were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,962 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $144,605,000 after acquiring an additional 114,072 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 32,557 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,012,000 after acquiring an additional 5,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,450,632 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $226,732,000 after acquiring an additional 232,977 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,253 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of CRH by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 72,778 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,733,000 after acquiring an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.64.

CRH Stock Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $94.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $99.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.36. The firm has a market cap of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.51%.

CRH Company 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.