Appleton Partners Inc. MA Acquires 1,791 Shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,818 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in CRH were worth $3,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in CRH by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,450,632 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $226,732,000 after acquiring an additional 232,977 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in CRH by 131.6% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 44,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in CRH by 142,350.0% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 17,094 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 17,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $683,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CRH. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 target price on shares of CRH in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.18.

CRH Stock Performance

NYSE CRH opened at $88.11 on Friday. Crh Plc has a one year low of $71.18 and a one year high of $110.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.31 and a 200 day moving average of $95.01. The company has a market capitalization of $59.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. CRH had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 15.88%. On average, equities analysts predict that Crh Plc will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.52%.

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.