Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Quilter Plc

Quilter Plc decreased its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 162,230 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 5,162 shares during the quarter. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $38,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at $1,035,905,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 27,502.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,491,151 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $588,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,126 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $3,282,305,000 after buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,370,559,000 after buying an additional 1,298,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Argus upgraded Union Pacific to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.39.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.3%

Union Pacific stock opened at $229.85 on Friday. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $258.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $221.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $137.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 48.29%.

Union Pacific 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.