Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 6,889 Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,905 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,889 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide worth $15,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHRW. Norges Bank bought a new position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,833,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 163.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,206,207 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $124,625,000 after buying an additional 748,661 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,899,550 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $299,582,000 after buying an additional 593,211 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 7,706.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 454,861 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $46,578,000 after buying an additional 449,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 386.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 374,941 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $38,739,000 after buying an additional 297,938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CHRW shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.29.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHRW traded down $1.44 on Friday, reaching $99.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 776,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,913. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.68 and a 52-week high of $114.82. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.29 billion. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business's revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angela K. Freeman sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.42, for a total value of $555,294.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 71,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,959,782.22. This trade represents a 7.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Company 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.