Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,379 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,503 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 6,379 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $22,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $813,554,000 after purchasing an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded down $2.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $259.71. 949,663 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,252,794. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $253.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.