Motco Boosts Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Motco grew its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,721 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 498 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $9,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after buying an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after purchasing an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.40.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP opened at $245.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $239.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.86. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $148.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, 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 sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. This trade represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.