Arvest Bank Trust Division Lowers Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Arvest Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 66,381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,291 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $15,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 103.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,770,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 415,874 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $94,588,000 after purchasing an additional 35,414 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 179,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $44,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,939 shares during the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 277,267 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,185,000 after purchasing an additional 53,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 10,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,394,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Susquehanna cut their price target on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.50.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:UNP opened at $216.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.83. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.