Ballentine Partners LLC Buys 626 Shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,321 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in CRH were worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRH by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in CRH by 71.5% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co bought a new position in CRH during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 62.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRH Stock Performance

CRH stock traded down $0.76 on Monday, reaching $75.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 539,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,144,416. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.94. CRH plc has a 12-month low of $51.59 and a 12-month high of $88.00.

CRH (NYSE:CRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The construction company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that CRH plc will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

CRH Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from CRH’s previous Variable dividend of $0.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CRH shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of CRH in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of CRH from $89.70 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of CRH in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of CRH from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on CRH in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.11.

CRH 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.