Allianz SE Invests $777,000 in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,401 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of CRH by 214.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in shares of CRH by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in CRH in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CRH. Citigroup lowered 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. 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.64.

CRH Stock Down 4.4 %

CRH stock opened at $88.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $59.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. CRH plc has a 12 month low of $71.18 and a 12 month high of $110.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.76.

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 issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. 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. CRH’s payout ratio 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.