Blair William & Co. IL Reduces Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 556,630 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 41,506 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $126,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 16.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Union Pacific by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 30,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $7,601,000 after acquiring an additional 8,847 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 3,175 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after acquiring an additional 31,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 9.9% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of UNP opened at $238.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $243.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.72. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.07. 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 market capitalization of $143.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNP. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reiterated 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, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.00.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other news, 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. This trade represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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.