M&T Bank Corp Sells 2,392 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,309 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,392 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Norfolk Southern worth $34,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $918,000. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $239.18 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $54.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $246.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.93.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.