Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 6,569 Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. $CHRW

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group increased its stake in C.H. Robinson by 216.3%, buying 6,569 shares to hold 9,606 shares valued at about $1.544 million at quarter-end.
• C.H. Robinson is heavily institutionally owned (93.15%) and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $186.22 after several recent price-target upgrades.
• The company beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.23 vs. $1.12) despite a 6.5% revenue decline year-over-year, pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend (~1.4% yield), and insiders have been net sellers in recent months.

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW - Free Report) by 216.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,606 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,569 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide were worth $1,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,563 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,099 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 656 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 93.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHRW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $135.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $177.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.22.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Stock Down 0.7%

C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock opened at $182.35 on Thursday. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.58 and a twelve month high of $203.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $174.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.76. The company has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.11. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The company's revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. C.H. Robinson Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angela K. Freeman sold 8,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.52, for a total transaction of $1,720,261.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,151,117.72. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Castagnetto sold 2,849 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.20, for a total transaction of $553,275.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,466,535.80. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 2,422 shares of company stock worth $400,801 and sold 17,796 shares worth $3,555,415. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Profile

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc is a third-party logistics provider founded in 1905 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Originally established as a produce brokerage firm, the company has since expanded its offerings to become one of the world's largest freight and logistics intermediaries. C.H. Robinson leverages a global network of transportation providers, technology platforms, and in-house expertise to connect shippers and carriers across multiple modes of transportation.

The company's primary services include truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), intermodal, air and ocean freight, and managed transportation solutions.

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