Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Purchases 116 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,536 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Union Pacific comprises about 0.1% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $5,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 111.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 129 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value 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 $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $232.06 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.56. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released 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 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark raised their target price on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.76.

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.