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

Cambridge Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,548 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 191 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.41. 1,254,989 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,289,739. The firm has a market cap of $55.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.14. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 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 Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 9,650 shares of company stock worth $2,182,110. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.