Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreases stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Free Report) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 529,838 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 41,043 shares during the quarter. Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. in Norfolk Southern were worth $113,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 209.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after acquiring an additional 75,729 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $13,627,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 96,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $22,783,000 after buying an additional 6,306 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider buying and selling

In other news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau acquired 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,420,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available via this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 10,350 shares of company stock worth $2,353,715. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s shares.

Norfolk Southern Trading falls 0.3%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $240.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $228.07, and its two-hundred-day moving average is $238.54. Norfolk Southern Co. it has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted EPS of $2.95. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern announces dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2. This represents a dividend of $5.40 on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analysts on Wall Street are forecasting an increase

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24, based on data from MarketBeat.

Read our latest report on Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

(Free report)

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of raw materials, intermediate products and finished products by rail in the United States. The company carries agricultural, forestry and consumer products including soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, animal and poultry feed, food products, edible oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, board and paper products , wood fibres, wood pulp, drinks and cans; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products including crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, waste chemicals, sand and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metal, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment and military products; and motor vehicles, including finished motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts, as well as coal.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds own NSC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trading for Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Free Report).

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