Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 65.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,003 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,546 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $967,340,000 after acquiring an additional 103,281 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,841,982 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $432,313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.63.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE NSC traded down $1.70 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $233.85. 939,859 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,161,692. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $246.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.63. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $52.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. 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.