Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Clayton Financial Group LLC

Clayton Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,674 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,282,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,370,559,000 after buying an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,686,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,752,804,000 after buying an additional 363,937 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,587,763,000 after buying an additional 920,414 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.74.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $224.59 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $204.66 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market cap of $134.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.31.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.29%.

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.