Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 364,163 Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. $CHRW

Key Points

• Vanguard added 364,163 shares in Q4, bringing its holdings to 14,565,409 shares and owning 12.33% of C.H. Robinson (about $2.34 billion).
• C.H. Robinson beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.35 vs. $1.24) while revenue matched forecasts, and analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $186.22.
• Insiders were net sellers last quarter—notably Michael John Short sold 6,368 shares (~$1.28M)—while institutional investors control about 93.15% of the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,565,409 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 364,163 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.33% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide worth $2,341,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the third quarter worth $27,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 110.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael John Short sold 6,368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.30, for a total transaction of $1,281,878.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 52,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,487,931.30. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Arun Rajan bought 605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $167.11 per share, with a total value of $101,101.55. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 133,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,335,254.16. This represents a 0.45% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 2,422 shares of company stock valued at $400,801 and have sold 17,796 shares valued at $3,555,415. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CHRW. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $225.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $149.00 price target on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.22.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock opened at $186.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $175.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.58 and a 1-year high of $203.34.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 34.24%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Company 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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