Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Acquired by Atlas Brown Inc.

Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,755 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,312,000 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 raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after acquiring an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after buying an additional 143,896 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of UNP traded down $6.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $224.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,637,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,364,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.63. The company has a market cap of $136.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.80.

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.