Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 35.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 225,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 124,104 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $50,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth about $1,832,127,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.6% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,812,689,000 after acquiring an additional 518,985 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,856,266 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,438,417,000 after acquiring an additional 113,946 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,504,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,351,937,000 after acquiring an additional 364,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.7% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,396,974 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,081,348,000 after acquiring an additional 237,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.79.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $247.47 on Thursday. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $199.33 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 51.15%.

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.