Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Makes New Investment in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,757 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in CRH by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,156,017 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,341,258,000 after acquiring an additional 9,055,354 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRH by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,351,050 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,329,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,708 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CRH by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,218,532,000 after purchasing an additional 618,786 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in CRH by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 11,155,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,034,540,000 after buying an additional 35,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CRH by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,985,356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $738,113,000 after buying an additional 165,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CRH. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of CRH from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup reduced 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 CRH from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays assumed coverage on CRH in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CRH from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CRH presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $107.75.

CRH Price Performance

Shares of CRH stock opened at $99.04 on Thursday. CRH plc has a 1 year low of $70.83 and a 1 year high of $104.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.92. The company has a market capitalization of $67.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

CRH Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.262 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. CRH’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.00%.

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.