Private Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 82 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,083 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after acquiring an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific by 9.3% in 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after buying an additional 143,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after buying an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark lifted 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. Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.40.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of Union Pacific 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 sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $247.02 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $237.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $218.55 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $149.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

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.