Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $877,000 Position in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,210 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in CSX were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in CSX by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,250,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,840,117,000 after purchasing an additional 455,258 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CSX by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,906,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,407,087,000 after buying an additional 190,346 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in CSX by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,956,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $805,345,000 after buying an additional 299,536 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 buying an additional 6,730,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in CSX by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,612,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447,651 shares during the last quarter. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Stock Performance

Shares of CSX stock opened at $29.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.86. CSX Co. has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $37.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.26.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). CSX had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 28.15%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CSX Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of CSX in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on CSX from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of CSX in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

About CSX

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.