Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $228.66 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 974,264 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 10,448 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Norfolk Southern worth $228,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $624,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,973 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,118,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.6 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $245.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens upped 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

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.