Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 33,477 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 621,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 33,477 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Canadian National Railway worth $63,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $112.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.36.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE CNI opened at $98.24 on Friday. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $93.64 and a 52-week high of $132.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.64 and a 200-day moving average of $106.11. The company has a market capitalization of $61.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.66%.

Canadian National Railway Profile

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.