First National Bank of Hutchinson Sells 348 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

First National Bank of Hutchinson lessened its stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,449 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 348 shares during the quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in CRH were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in CRH by 6,859.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 191,105 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,723,000 after purchasing an additional 188,359 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in CRH by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,510 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in CRH by 40.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,508 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CRH by 82.5% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,543 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 5,669 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRH during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.25.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE CRH opened at $98.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $66.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.26. CRH plc has a one year low of $71.18 and a one year high of $110.97.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.50%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.51%.

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.