First Merchants Corp Sells 1,100 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

First Merchants Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Canadian National Railway by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,933 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted 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 valued at $570,550,000 after purchasing an additional 142,070 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its position in Canadian National Railway by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 287,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,136,000 after purchasing an additional 42,239 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 18,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CNI. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Veritas raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of CNI opened at $101.69 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $102.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.88. The company has a market capitalization of $63.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 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 has a fifty-two week low of $98.69 and a fifty-two week high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. Research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.68%.

Canadian National Railway Company 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.