Garde Capital Inc. Sells 600 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Garde Capital Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 20.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,380 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,282,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,370,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,686,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,752,804,000 after purchasing an additional 363,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,587,763,000 after purchasing an additional 920,414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNP. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Argus upgraded Union Pacific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $259.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.74.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $222.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $132.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.94. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1-year low of $204.66 and a 1-year high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.76% and a return on equity of 40.80%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.29%.

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.