Corient Private Wealth LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 137,478 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 13,452 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $32,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $967,340,000 after acquiring an additional 103,281 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,841,982 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $432,313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $234.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $53.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $246.25 and its 200 day moving average is $250.40. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.95.

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.