State of Alaska Department of Revenue Buys 1,670 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,791 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $16,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 worth $2,370,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 5.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 363,937 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup raised shares of Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $260.00 to $244.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.74.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $221.85. 2,414,505 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,685,057. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $132.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $258.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.04.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.76% and a return on equity of 40.80%. The business's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.