Arvest Trust Co. N A Sells 3,621 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Arvest Trust Co. N A decreased its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,621 shares during the period. Arvest Trust Co. N A’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $16,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 86.8% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at $518,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 62,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $15,445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Daiwa America downgraded Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, July 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP opened at $252.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $154.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $243.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.08. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $199.33 and a 1 year high of $258.66. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. 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 (DPR) is currently 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.