Milford Funds Ltd. Makes New Investment in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 262,220 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $60,657,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 135 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.7% during the third quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management now owns 2,691 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 price objective on Union Pacific and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $289.00 price objective (up from $273.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price target on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $307.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.21.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $272.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $262.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.69. The company has a market capitalization of $161.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.97. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $210.84 and a fifty-two week high of $279.70.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 39.58% and a net margin of 29.20%.Union Pacific’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 45.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total value of $7,442,691.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 61,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,605,079.52. The trade was a 30.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total value of $789,504.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.