Focus Partners Wealth Grows Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth boosted its Union Pacific stake by 76.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 318,398 shares valued at about $73.7 million.
• Several large institutional investors also increased holdings, and about 80.38% of Union Pacific’s stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Union Pacific reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.93 versus $2.86 expected and revenue of $6.22 billion versus $6.12 billion expected, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 76.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 318,398 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 137,677 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.05% of Union Pacific worth $73,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,329,262 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $13,724,045,000 after purchasing an additional 659,378 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,330,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $6,090,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082,285 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,136,349 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,658,142,000 after purchasing an additional 9,655,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,360,668 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,552,550,000 after purchasing an additional 296,814 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,636,050 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,922,971,000 after purchasing an additional 602,647 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $253.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $285.00 price target (up from $278.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.21.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total transaction of $7,442,691.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,605,079.52. This represents a 30.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares in the company, valued at $31,492,157.40. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.1%

UNP opened at $272.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $262.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12-month low of $210.84 and a 12-month high of $279.70.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.12 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.47%.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation NYSE: UNP is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific's core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.