Meeder Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 65.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,249 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 4,186 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $547,575,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $207,830,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after buying an additional 469,558 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.9 %

NSC opened at $237.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $245.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.93. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.