Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 2,040 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,434 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,040 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $31,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock traded down $2.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $270.41. The company had a trading volume of 350,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,240. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $256.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.57. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $61.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.