HM Payson & Co. Sells 2,749 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

HM Payson & Co. trimmed its position in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 345,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in CSX were worth $11,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in CSX by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,350,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $753,507,000 after acquiring an additional 6,730,316 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth $85,959,000. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter worth $83,301,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of CSX by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of CSX by 616.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,114,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,966,000 after purchasing an additional 958,957 shares in the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CSX Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ CSX opened at $31.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.48 and a 200 day moving average of $33.62. CSX Co. has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $38.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. Research analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. CSX’s payout ratio is presently 29.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CSX shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CSX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CSX has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities.