Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Trims Stock Position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 57.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 961 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,304 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.'s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 valued at $1,752,804,000 after purchasing an additional 363,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Union Pacific to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.46.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded up $3.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $223.56. The company had a trading volume of 3,489,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,100,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $227.30 and a 200 day moving average of $231.07. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52-week low of $204.66 and a 52-week high of $258.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.76% and a return on equity of 40.80%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. 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.