Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Stock Holdings in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 563.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 441,904 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375,327 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.07% of CRH worth $43,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in CRH by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 36,944 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $41,407,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRH in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in CRH by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,882 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CRH from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson raised their price target on CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $108.45.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRH opened at $97.34 on Friday. CRH plc has a 1-year low of $71.18 and a 1-year high of $110.97. The company has a market cap of $66.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.84.

CRH Increases Dividend

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

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.