Forza Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Forza Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,915 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 272.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $379,689,000 after buying an additional 1,227,318 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $220,856,000 after purchasing an additional 891,555 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2,025.4% in 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 period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 170.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $181,470,000 after purchasing an additional 464,477 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.80.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded up $1.69 during trading on Monday, hitting $226.90. 1,140,744 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,368,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.83. The company has a market cap of $137.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

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.