First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 774,828 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 318.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,018,219 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 774,828 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $232,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,282,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,895 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,686,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,752,804,000 after purchasing an additional 363,937 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,439,861 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,468,546,000 after purchasing an additional 285,401 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,305,684 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,437,948,000 after purchasing an additional 20,099 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital lowered Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.50.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $220.26 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $235.02 and a 200-day moving average of $236.42. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The company has a market capitalization of $132.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Union Pacific news, 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 value of $1,636,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.