J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 8,022 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $9,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNP. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 40.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 10.0% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 7.4% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after buying an additional 105,664 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $289.00 target price (up from $273.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.47.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $263.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $156.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.85. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $210.84 and a fifty-two week high of $279.70.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.47%.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total transaction 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 $16,605,079.52. This trade represents a 30.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,492,157.40. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.