Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 372,599 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 12,141 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $84,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 213 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 8,569 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regatta Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,388. This trade represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.30.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.0 %

UNP traded up $2.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $251.65. The stock had a trading volume of 898,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,806,768. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $234.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $152.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

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.