Davis R M Inc. Has $2.20 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Davis R M Inc. lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,835 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $254.48 and its 200 day moving average is $240.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month 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.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.