Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 214,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $48,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 16.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,660 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,889 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 62,891 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the third quarter valued at approximately $953,000. Finally, Centric Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 11,199 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.7 %

Union Pacific stock opened at $232.06 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $243.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.56. The stock has a market cap of $140.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNP. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.76.

About Union Pacific

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.