Choate Investment Advisors Sells 1,477 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Choate Investment Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,771 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,477 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $15,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,562,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,175,935,000 after buying an additional 790,420 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 46.5% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,737,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $789,030,000 after buying an additional 2,137,948 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 142,070 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 5.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of CNI opened at $97.70 on Friday. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $93.64 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its earnings results 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 forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is 47.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CNI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

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.