Captrust Financial Advisors Trims Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Captrust Financial Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,826 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 29,322 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Union Pacific were worth $46,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,282,305,000 after buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Union Pacific by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,370,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,686,387 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,752,804,000 after purchasing an additional 363,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 920,414 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Price Performance

NYSE UNP traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $216.20. 2,172,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,612,947. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $129.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.73. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific's payout ratio is 48.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.