Johnson Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,718 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 35.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,135 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,718 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $1,035,905,000. 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% during the fourth 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, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,146,990 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $489,600,000 after buying an additional 918,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.86.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of UNP stock traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $215.90. 3,139,062 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,577,902. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $230.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.28. The stock has a market cap of $129.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $258.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Union Pacific's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.29%.

Union Pacific Company Profile

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.