Modern Wealth Management LLC Buys 2,059 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 52.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,035,905,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,146,990 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $489,600,000 after purchasing an additional 918,248 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 33,228.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 504,258 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $114,991,000 after purchasing an additional 502,745 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,226,100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $279,600,000 after purchasing an additional 323,525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNP shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital cut Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.00.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $235.90 on Wednesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.73.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. Analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.