Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 208,291 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,721,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 33.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,156,017 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,341,258,000 after buying an additional 9,055,354 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in CRH by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,329,796,000 after buying an additional 1,148,708 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CRH by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,218,532,000 after buying an additional 618,786 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CRH by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,985,356 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $738,113,000 after buying an additional 165,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CRH. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.25.

CRH Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of CRH stock opened at $97.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.21. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $71.18 and a twelve month high of $110.97.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 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.