Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 112 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,311 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 43.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after buying an additional 4,698 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after acquiring an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 363.6% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 153,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $18,012,000 after purchasing an additional 120,687 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 5.4% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $464,002,000 after purchasing an additional 202,303 shares during the period. Finally, Partners Group Holding AG raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 16.3% in the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 406,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,571,000 after purchasing an additional 56,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CNI opened at $96.00 on Friday. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $93.64 and a 1-year high of $134.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.12. The company has a market cap of $60.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6159 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase 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 2.57%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNI shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.19.

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.