AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $305,000 Investment in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,338 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,305,684 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,437,948,000 after acquiring an additional 20,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,821,979 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,099,604,000 after purchasing an additional 118,999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,388. This trade represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $232.06 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.56. The company has a market cap of $140.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UNP. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.76.

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.