Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW)

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $125.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CHRW. Citigroup raised shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.33.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ CHRW opened at $99.49 on Friday. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a 1-year low of $65.00 and a 1-year high of $114.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $105.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.83.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 35.64% and a net margin of 2.63%. As a group, research analysts expect that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.42%.

Insider Transactions at C.H. Robinson Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael John Short sold 10,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.87, for a total transaction of $1,143,526.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 70,943 shares in the company, valued at $7,794,507.41. This represents a 12.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Castagnetto sold 2,032 shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.81, for a total transaction of $210,941.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,578,226.89. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHRW. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,277 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 5,370 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 420.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,409 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 142,016 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,673,000 after acquiring an additional 7,183 shares during the last quarter. 93.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.