Howard Capital Management Group LLC Purchases 403 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 3,250.0% during the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP opened at $241.71 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $199.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $246.28 and a 200 day moving average of $238.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price target for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $264.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.25.

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.