Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $43.87 Million Stock Holdings in Crh Plc $CRH

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Crh Plc (NYSE:CRH) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 350,563 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 19,271 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in CRH were worth $43,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CRH by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of CRH by 34.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of CRH by 2.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in CRH by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 212 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on CRH from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CRH from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of CRH in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CRH in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.54.

CRH Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $118.53 on Tuesday. Crh Plc has a twelve month low of $81.60 and a twelve month high of $131.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $112.54 and its 200-day moving average is $117.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.35.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.20 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. CRH had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crh Plc will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is 28.26%.

About CRH

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH’s core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.