Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Acquires 9,891 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 79.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,891 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $271.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $251.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.87. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $193.15 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lifted 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, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

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.