Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 76 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,086 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $268.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.90. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

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.