Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Position Increased by Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance grew its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,319 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $6,109,829,000 after acquiring an additional 217,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 143,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after acquiring an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. This trade 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Loop Capital cut Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.40.

Union Pacific Price Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $244.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $148.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.19. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 12.01 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Union Pacific Company 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.