Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 600,518 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 16,177 shares during the quarter. Union Pacific accounts for approximately 1.1% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Union Pacific worth $136,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,035,905,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,616,895 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% during 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 buying an additional 1,298,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,361,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.50.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $222.93. 2,848,937 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,644,812. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $223.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.56. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

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

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Union Pacific's payout ratio is presently 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.