Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 565,034 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,029,376 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 565,034 shares during the period. Union Pacific comprises about 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.65% of Union Pacific worth $2,463,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,478,649,000 after purchasing an additional 19,145 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,803,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,385,457,000 after purchasing an additional 285,988 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,867,842 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,441,260,000 after purchasing an additional 125,522 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,119,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119,382 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,003,423 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,018,847,000 after purchasing an additional 792,896 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNP. Stifel Nicolaus raised Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $248.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Union Pacific from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.61.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $247.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,299,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,154,729. The company has a market cap of $150.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $242.06 and a 200-day moving average of $237.42. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $190.71 and a 52 week high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. Union Pacific's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

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.

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