Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $31.92 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,040 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $31,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $272.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $256.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.57. The company has a market cap of $61.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average 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.