Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,081 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,021 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,143 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 160,233 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $37,876,000 after purchasing an additional 22,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 10,096 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Benchmark boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $251.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $56.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.07. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.