Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHRW. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $810,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 7.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,709 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL bought a new position in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the third quarter valued at about $835,000. Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $587,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 2.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,411,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $155,830,000 after purchasing an additional 36,769 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.15% of the company’s stock.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Stock Up 2.1 %

CHRW stock opened at $98.38 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.13 and a 200 day moving average of $104.54. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.83. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.00 and a twelve month high of $114.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 34.53% and a net margin of 2.63%. On average, research analysts forecast that C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CHRW shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $129.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Angela K. Freeman sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.39, for a total value of $803,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,732,740.53. This trade represents a 9.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael D. Castagnetto sold 5,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $499,593.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,444,765.60. This trade represents a 12.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,048 shares of company stock valued at $1,513,656. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

About C.H. Robinson Worldwide

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.