Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,607 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRH. Barclays PLC bought a new position in CRH during the 3rd quarter valued at about $941,562,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in CRH during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,358,000. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in CRH during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,484,901,000. Asio Capital LLC grew its holdings in CRH by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 54,015 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,736,000 after purchasing an additional 23,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System bought a new position in CRH during the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,833,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRH Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE CRH opened at $80.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.07. CRH plc has a 52-week low of $47.14 and a 52-week high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The construction company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.69 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that CRH plc will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRH Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.262 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of CRH from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of CRH from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of CRH in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of CRH from $89.70 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRH presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.31.

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.