LPL Financial LLC Sells 16,840 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,206 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 16,840 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $10,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,562,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,175,935,000 after acquiring an additional 790,420 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Canadian National Railway by 46.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,737,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $789,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137,948 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,624,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $570,550,000 after purchasing an additional 142,070 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Canadian National Railway by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,119,674 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $519,843,000 after buying an additional 571,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,562,480 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $302,895,000 after buying an additional 158,757 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CNI shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Securities upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.36.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNI opened at $96.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $60.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $100.46 and its 200 day moving average is $105.95. Canadian National Railway has a 52 week low of $93.64 and a 52 week high of $132.27.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. Research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

About Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail, intermodal, trucking, and marine transportation and logistics business in Canada and the United States. The company provides rail services, which include equipment, custom brokerage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services, such as temperature controlled cargo, port partnerships, and logistics parks.