Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 602,161 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,858 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.27% of Norfolk Southern worth $141,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.74.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $210.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $242.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $47.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.