Monument Capital Management Purchases 45 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Monument Capital Management raised its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,161 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth about $246,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 8,913 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at about $275,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Union Pacific by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,908 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $56,716,000 after buying an additional 23,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNP. StockNews.com lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.00.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock opened at $234.48 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.40. The company has a market capitalization of $143.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $190.37 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.71%.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the company’s 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 owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.