Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 794,872 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 96.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,155 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 794,872 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $6,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 81,614 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $19,283,000 after acquiring an additional 15,703 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 228,764 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $54,043,000 after acquiring an additional 7,263 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 12,878 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,040,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 498,430 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $117,749,000 after acquiring an additional 117,356 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 87,797 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $20,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Baird R W upgraded Union Pacific to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded down $1.18 on Wednesday, reaching $214.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,004,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,459,492. The company has a market capitalization of $127.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $225.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.53. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52 week low of $204.66 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. Union Pacific's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.96%.

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.