Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 845 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,069 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 845 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,205,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,536,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,086 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 43.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $233.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $246.07 and a 200 day moving average of $250.02. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern 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.