MAI Capital Management Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

MAI Capital Management trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,992 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,535 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,791,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NSC stock traded down $0.78 on Wednesday, hitting $258.93. The stock had a trading volume of 922,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,466. The company has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.27. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.