Peterson Wealth Services Has $3.84 Million Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Peterson Wealth Services reduced its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,631 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,631 shares during the period. Union Pacific comprises about 1.6% of Peterson Wealth Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Union Pacific were worth $3,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Power Corp of Canada acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.48.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded up $1.51 on Thursday, hitting $230.74. The company had a trading volume of 310,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,941. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $190.37 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.02 and a 200-day moving average of $233.55.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.71%.

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.