Ascent Group LLC Acquires 49,869 Shares of CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) by 559.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,869 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in CSX were worth $2,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter worth $757,276,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in CSX by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 64,807,961 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,246,893,000 after acquiring an additional 9,914,656 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in CSX by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 40,353,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,399,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,041,679 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in CSX during the 1st quarter worth $126,089,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in CSX by 58.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,336,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $86,596,000 after acquiring an additional 858,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.57% of the company’s stock.

CSX Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CSX traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $34.40. 10,706,178 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,801,973. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.05. CSX Co. has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $40.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20.

CSX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of CSX in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on CSX from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on CSX from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on CSX from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CSX presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.14.

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.