Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 6,300 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 458,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.20% of Norfolk Southern worth $113,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake 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 valued at $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $813,554,000 after acquiring an additional 37,386 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $264.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $253.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.58. The firm has a market cap of $59.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.