Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,773 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,097 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $10,210,000 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 stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in 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 raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,305,684 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,437,948,000 after buying an additional 20,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after buying an additional 31,899 shares during 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 a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE UNP opened at $247.97 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $218.55 and a 12 month high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $149.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $241.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.98.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

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.