Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 4,122 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,153 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 4,122 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $6,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 272.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $379,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227,318 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 35.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,012,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,812,689,000 after purchasing an additional 518,985 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at about $123,297,000. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 186.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 704,769 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $159,461,000 after purchasing an additional 458,664 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.32.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP traded down $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $238.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,137,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,288,305. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $199.33 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $246.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.15%.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.