Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Acquires 3,399 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,420 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $389,305,000 after buying an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $83,031,000 after acquiring an additional 349,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $260.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:NSC traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,501,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,720. The company has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.21, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.20 and a 200 day moving average of $235.83.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.

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