Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 29,755 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 277,431 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 29,755 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $25,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,055,354 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CRH by 8.7% during the 3rd 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 position in CRH by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,233 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,218,532,000 after buying an additional 618,786 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of CRH by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,609,451 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $796,546,000 after buying an additional 826,758 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 165,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

CRH Trading Up 0.4 %

CRH stock opened at $97.40 on Tuesday. CRH plc has a 1-year low of $71.18 and a 1-year high of $110.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.21. The firm has a market cap of $65.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.25.

CRH 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.