Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Stake Cut by Farmers Trust Co.

Farmers Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,688 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,333 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Union Pacific by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after buying an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after acquiring an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after purchasing an additional 143,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.30.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock traded up $1.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.71. 1,235,624 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,372,986. The stock has a market cap of $140.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The business had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 EPS. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.22%.

Union Pacific Company 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.