AXQ Capital LP Acquires New Shares in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,957 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CRH. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in CRH by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in CRH in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in CRH by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 668 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRH. StockNews.com raised CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut their price target on CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price target on CRH in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.64.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH opened at $94.79 on Monday. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $71.18 and a 1 year high of $110.97. The company has a market capitalization of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.81 and a 200-day moving average of $96.44.

CRH Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from CRH’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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.