Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on CRH (NYSE:CRH)

CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 12,808 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 123% compared to the average daily volume of 5,744 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the third quarter worth $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in CRH by 214.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 352 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRH Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of CRH stock opened at $97.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $66.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. CRH has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.77.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.52%. This is a boost 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 20.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CRH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CRH from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.45.

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.