First Manhattan CO. LLC. Acquires 7,417 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 718,856 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,417 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $166,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares in the company, valued at $31,492,157.40. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 34,377 shares of company stock worth $9,251,221 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Benchmark increased their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up from $253.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.21.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $257.61 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $263.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.57. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1-year low of $210.84 and a 1-year high of $279.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $152.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.97.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio 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.