(The following story by Robert McCabe appeared on The Virginian-Pilot website on December 17, 2009.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Two top executives at Norfolk Southern Corp. sold 60,000 shares of stock this week, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wick Moorman, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, sold 50,000 shares, and James A. Hixon, executive vice president/law and corporate relations, sold 10,000 shares.
“There are only certain times of the year when officers can buy or sell stock or exercise options,” said Frank Brown, a Norfolk Southern spokesman. “Other factors include the types of shares that they have, the time of the expiration dates that are associated with their shares and personal financial-planning reasons.
“Due to those factors, there will often be changes in the holdings of the corporation’s officers.”
The transactions, which occurred Monday, involved the exercise of stock options both executives were given in 2002, enabling them to acquire stock at $22.49 a share before selling it for about $53 a share. The expiration date for the stock options was Jan. 27, 2012, according to the SEC.
As of Monday, Moorman had 215,548 total remaining shares of company stock, including those in a 401(k) plan; Hixon had 119,271, the records show.