Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,268 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,721 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 26,913 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,938 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 47,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,008 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 853,694 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $215,464,000 after purchasing an additional 67,024 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $264.76 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $204.90 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.46. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

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.