AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Boosts Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,892 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $10,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2,025.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $134,636,000 after buying an additional 520,536 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 170.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $181,470,000 after acquiring an additional 464,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,226,100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $279,600,000 after acquiring an additional 323,525 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price (up from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.57.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.4 %

Union Pacific stock opened at $248.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $150.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $234.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.40. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.22%.

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.