Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 1,068 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,068 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $33,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $469,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,149 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,797,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,296,632 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $306,498,000 after acquiring an additional 38,080 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Barclays reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.61.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.1 %

NSC stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $213.64. 473,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,308,148. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $223.66 and its 200 day moving average is $238.14. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $48.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.