Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management reduced its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,045 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNP. State Street Corp grew its stake in Union Pacific by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% during 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 buying an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,237,356,000 after buying an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNP. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark increased their price target on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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.com, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.40.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of UNP stock opened at $245.12 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 company insiders.

Union Pacific 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.