Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,186 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 65.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,249 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 4,186 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after buying an additional 139,485 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after acquiring an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.84.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $237.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.93. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

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.