HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 92,459 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 620,285 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 92,459 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $143,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after purchasing an additional 105,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $253.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $289.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 target price on Union Pacific and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.93, for a total value of $469,625.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total value of $7,442,691.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 61,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,605,079.52. This represents a 30.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 31,386 shares of company stock worth $8,461,716 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $271.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $210.84 and a 12 month high of $276.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $252.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.02. The company has a market cap of $161.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.47%.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two?thirds of the United States.