Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Acquires 128 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 128 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $243.89 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $246.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

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.