Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,935 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,399 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $4,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Centric Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 8,442 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,407,185 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $836,873,000 after acquiring an additional 75,663 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,416 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,747 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $9,763,000 after buying an additional 12,249 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 13,770 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on UNP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.61.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:UNP traded up $3.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $245.95. 1,028,809 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,278,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $150.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $190.71 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.79.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

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.