WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 266 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lowered its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 266 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 90,390.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,697,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,836,353,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,276,498,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 108.9% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $840,702,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151,893 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 62.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,119,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Union Pacific by 638.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,014,327 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $550,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $239.00 to $237.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.33.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded up $1.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $245.99. 923,890 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,342,911. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $190.37 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $247.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.40. The firm has a market cap of $150.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.71%.

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.