Modera Wealth Management LLC Sells 45 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Modera Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,391 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $813,554,000 after buying an additional 37,386 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $251.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.79. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.76 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.