Romano Brothers AND Company Trims Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Romano Brothers AND Company lowered its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,625 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $3,813,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,930 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,124,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its position in Union Pacific by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its stake in Union Pacific by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 74,045 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $16,885,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $262.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.4 %

UNP stock opened at $233.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $233.83 and a 200 day moving average of $238.85.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 49.22%.

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.