KCM Investment Advisors LLC Has $340,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,367 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 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, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $261.26 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $205.70 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $252.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.84. 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 company has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.