Howard Capital Management Group LLC Has $521,000 Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC lowered its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 21.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,207 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in Union Pacific by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 102,213 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $23,309,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth about $781,000. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,954,000. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 54,564 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $223.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $220.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.64. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 48.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Union Pacific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $259.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $260.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.74.

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.