First Manhattan CO. LLC. Boosts Stake in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 718,856 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,417 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.12% of Union Pacific worth $166,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenblum Silverman Sutton S F Inc. CA grew its position in Union Pacific by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Rosenblum Silverman Sutton S F Inc. CA now owns 1,221 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 135 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 1,220 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $253.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 target price on Union Pacific and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $307.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.21.

Union Pacific Stock Down 3.7%

NYSE UNP opened at $257.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.57. Union Pacific Corporation has a twelve month low of $210.84 and a twelve month high of $279.70. The stock has a market cap of $152.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.97.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total transaction of $7,442,691.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,102 shares in the company, valued at $16,605,079.52. This trade represents a 30.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total transaction of $789,504.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 34,377 shares of company stock worth $9,251,221 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Company Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.