Adero Partners LLC Buys 145 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Adero Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,092 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Adero Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Union Pacific by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after buying an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after buying an additional 143,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,237,356,000 after buying an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $243.61 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $235.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.15. The company has a market cap of $147.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 12.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNP. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark upped their target price on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.40.

About Union Pacific

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.