Stifel Financial Corp Sells 20,003 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH - Free Report) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,966 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 20,003 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in CRH were worth $7,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CRH by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,962 shares of the construction company's stock worth $144,605,000 after purchasing an additional 114,072 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in CRH by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 32,557 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,012,000 after acquiring an additional 5,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CRH by 10.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in CRH by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,253 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in CRH by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 72,778 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,733,000 after acquiring an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CRH in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CRH from $127.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of CRH from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded 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 shares of CRH from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $112.36.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock opened at $93.01 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.03. CRH plc has a fifty-two week low of $71.18 and a fifty-two week high of $110.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.30.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from CRH's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. CRH's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.66%.

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.

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