Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Boston Partners grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $58,255,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.56.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $247.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $55.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $246.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.19. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.