Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 4,083.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 325,270 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 317,494 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.14% of Norfolk Southern worth $80,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 67,561 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $16,789,000 after buying an additional 10,890 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,045 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,037.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 349,143 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $86,762,000 after buying an additional 347,634 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,699 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % 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.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC traded down $3.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $253.42. 1,378,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,260,609. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $248.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.16.

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.