GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 167,308 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 11,109.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,814 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 167,308 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in CRH were worth $14,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CRH in the fourth quarter worth about $1,391,245,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,843,362 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,781,004,000 after buying an additional 4,687,345 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,788,918 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 2,437,868 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of CRH by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,717,597 shares of the construction company's stock worth $436,472,000 after buying an additional 1,978,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 931.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,977,992 shares of the construction company's stock worth $183,004,000 after buying an additional 1,786,189 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRH. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CRH from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CRH in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $112.58.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock traded up $0.66 on Monday, hitting $93.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,466,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,463,412. CRH plc has a twelve month low of $71.18 and a twelve month high of $110.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.14 and a 200-day moving average of $95.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28.

CRH (NYSE:CRH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). CRH had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 9.86%. The company had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Equities analysts predict that CRH plc will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. CRH's payout ratio is presently 23.52%.

CRH Company Profile

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.