Merit Financial Group LLC Has $2.31 Million Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,405 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 8,054 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,394 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 2,393 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 7,838 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 5,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $248.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Union Pacific in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.61.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of UNP stock opened at $240.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $242.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $146.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $190.71 and a 12-month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Union Pacific Company Profile

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, renewable biofuel producers, and other agricultural users; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.