TCW Group Inc. Has $15.04 Million Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 69.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,969 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 27,077 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $15,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,770,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 415,874 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $94,588,000 after buying an additional 35,414 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 179,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $44,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,939 shares during the period. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 277,267 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,185,000 after purchasing an additional 53,946 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 10,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UNP shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.40.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $245.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $237.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.66.

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 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Union Pacific

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.