Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 110,442 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,722 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $25,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.3% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,843 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,147,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,062 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 5,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $210.78 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $51.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $242.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.