Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,784 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 505 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNP. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $220,856,000 after acquiring an additional 891,555 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2,025.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $134,636,000 after purchasing an additional 520,536 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 170.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $181,470,000 after purchasing an additional 464,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,226,100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $279,600,000 after purchasing an additional 323,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNP. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.30.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $249.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.01. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $151.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.