Boston Partners Makes New Investment in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW)

Key Points

• Boston Partners has acquired a significant stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, purchasing 2.3 million shares valued at approximately $234 million, representing 1.94% ownership in the company.
• C.H. Robinson's recent quarterly earnings beat estimates with $1.29 EPS, benefiting from a 35.01% return on equity, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 7.7%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, which reflects a 2.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 56.49%.

Boston Partners acquired a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,299,150 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $234,304,000. Boston Partners owned 1.94% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CHRW. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,882 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 32,146 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $620,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $597,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 827.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,258 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691 shares in the last quarter. 93.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CHRW shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price (up previously from $129.00) on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities increased their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $119.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Insider Transactions at C.H. Robinson Worldwide

In related news, insider Angela K. Freeman sold 5,713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.24, for a total value of $664,079.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 65,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,640,222.72. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael John Short sold 6,364 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.24, for a total value of $746,115.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 60,401 shares in the company, valued at $7,081,413.24. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock traded down $0.28 on Friday, hitting $121.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,634. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $101.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.14. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. has a one year low of $84.68 and a one year high of $122.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.86.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.12. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 3.14%. The business had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The business's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. C.H. Robinson Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is 56.49%.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Profile

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services, and related logistics and supply chain services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: North American Surface Transportation and Global Forwarding. The company offers transportation and logistics services, such as truckload, less than truckload transportation brokerage services, which include the shipment of single or multiple pallets of freight; intermodal transportation that comprises the shipment service of freight in containers or trailers by a combination of truck and rail; and non-vessel operating common carrier and freight forwarding services, as well as organizes air shipments and provides door-to-door services.