Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $1.84 Million Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $220,856,000 after acquiring an additional 891,555 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $134,636,000 after buying an additional 520,536 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 170.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $181,470,000 after buying an additional 464,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,226,100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $279,600,000 after buying an additional 323,525 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. This trade represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.30.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.2 %

UNP stock opened at $249.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.94. The company has a market cap of $151.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.22%.

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.