Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Cambridge Trust Co.

Cambridge Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,548 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $874,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st 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. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 85.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,888 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 260.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,127 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,305,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Trust & Investment Co. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,231.9% during the 1st quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 15,676 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,995,000 after buying an additional 14,499 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 9,650 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,110 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $243.41. 1,254,989 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,289,739. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.14.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.