Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 1,950 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Independent Advisor Alliance lowered its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 22.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,868 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,950 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.38. The stock had a trading volume of 626,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,664. The firm has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.63. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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 revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.68.

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.