378,910 Shares in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) Purchased by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of CRH plc (NYSE:CRH – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 378,910 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,212,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRH by 86.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,526 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRH in the 3rd quarter worth about $69,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CRH by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CRH by 14.7% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,321 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in CRH in the third quarter valued at about $928,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group reduced their target price on CRH from €50.00 ($53.76) to €48.00 ($51.61) and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Redburn Partners raised shares of CRH from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of CRH from €50.00 ($53.76) to €48.00 ($51.61) and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on CRH in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRH opened at $48.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. CRH plc has a 52 week low of $31.22 and a 52 week high of $52.20.

CRH Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from CRH’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.24. CRH’s payout ratio is presently 48.93%.

About CRH

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CRH Plc manufactures and distributes building materials and products for the construction industry. It operates business through the following segments: Americas Materials, Europe Materials, and Building Products. The Americas Materials segment provides asphalt paving services and produces materials such as cement, aggregates, ready mixed concrete, and asphalt.