Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Stake Reduced by Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,964 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 7,091 shares during the quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $9,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,594,882 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,503,899,000 after buying an additional 105,111 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Pacific Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded up $4.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $218.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,926,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,592,748. 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 fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07. The firm's fifty day moving average is $228.61 and its 200-day moving average is $234.60. The company has a market cap of $130.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Union Pacific's payout ratio is currently 48.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.86.

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.