FineMark National Bank & Trust Sells 81 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

FineMark National Bank & Trust trimmed its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,078 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,973,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 150,998 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,692,000 after purchasing an additional 40,861 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.78.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $226.86. 784,943 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,714,311. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $241.56 and its 200 day moving average is $237.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.