Foster & Motley Inc. Has $4.03 Million Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,401 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $4,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Union Pacific by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 87,905 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,596,000 after acquiring an additional 28,052 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 18,512 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,547,000 after acquiring an additional 6,031 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at $606,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 184,700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $45,366,000 after acquiring an additional 19,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.00.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $236.07 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $190.37 and a twelve month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. Union Pacific’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.71%.

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.