State Street Corp Has $2.32 Billion Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 4.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $2,318,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $813,554,000 after purchasing an additional 37,386 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,373,909 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $341,416,000 after purchasing an additional 19,394 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $261.77. 255,146 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,236,892. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.46. The firm has a market cap of $59.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.68.

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.