LPL Financial LLC Increases Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,121,998 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 51,289 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.19% of Union Pacific worth $255,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 111.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 129 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark upped their target price on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.00.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of UNP opened at $233.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $242.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.94.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 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 previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were 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 approximately $16,240,000. The trade was 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 company insiders.

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.