MML Investors Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

MML Investors Services LLC lowered its stake in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 515,732 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 11,967 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $17,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in CSX by 149.1% during the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 17,208 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 10,301 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CSX by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 467,399 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,139,000 after acquiring an additional 80,423 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of CSX by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $116,521,000 after acquiring an additional 24,430 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in CSX by 3.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,348,543 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $81,095,000 after purchasing an additional 77,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in CSX during the second quarter valued at $867,000. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $33.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.39. CSX Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.74 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. CSX had a net margin of 24.77% and a return on equity of 28.92%. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CSX Co. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

CSX Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. CSX’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CSX from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on CSX from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of CSX from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of CSX from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CSX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.78.

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.