(Reuters circulated the following story by Emily Chasan on October 29.)
NEW YORK — The chief executive of Railroad company Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp revealed on Monday that he sold 30,000 shares of the company last week, just two days after giving a bearish outlook on the economy.
According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Matthew Rose sold the shares last Thursday at an average price of $83.75 per share.
BNSF posted a better-than-expectd quarterly profit last Tuesday, but Rose told Reuters then that he believes the economy could worsen in 2008 due to the impact of the housing slowdown, high fuel prices and slack consumer spending.
The railroad has managed to offset lower freight volumes this year with strong pricing.
Rose also sold shares and exercised stock options in May.
Rose still owns more than 380,000 shares of the company directly, according to the filing.
BNSF shares were up 0.5 percent at $86.06 on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.