Atria Investments Inc Cuts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Atria Investments Inc cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,646 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,653 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $1.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $269.26. 725,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,631. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $201.44 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $252.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.