Legal & General Group Plc Sells 521,638 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,783,397 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 521,638 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.79% of Norfolk Southern worth $418,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,098,472,000 after buying an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $918,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $217.94. 1,401,075 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,248,782. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $237.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $246.74. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NSC. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.68.

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.