Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Purchases 104,853 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 939,322 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 104,853 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $220,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.63.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $236.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.