Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Boosts Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,125 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 0.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,237,356,000 after acquiring an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $245.39 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.83. The company has a market cap of $148.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Benchmark increased their price target on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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