Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Stake Lessened by True North Advisors LLC

True North Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,228 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 370.8% in the fourth quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 9,045 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,222,000 after buying an additional 7,124 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,060,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $675,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 25,474 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,257,000 after purchasing an additional 5,379 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $264.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $237.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $245.92 and a 200-day moving average of $238.62. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $199.97 and a one year high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $144.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 51.15%.

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.