Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 104,853 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 939,322 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,853 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.42% of Norfolk Southern worth $220,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during 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 own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.63.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $236.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $246.01 and a 200 day moving average of $249.63.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.