Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Bought by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,399 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 90,390.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,697,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,836,353,000 after acquiring an additional 13,682,419 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,983,932 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,860,303,000 after acquiring an additional 883,963 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,478,649,000 after acquiring an additional 19,145 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,803,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,385,457,000 after acquiring an additional 285,988 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,276,498,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James raised their price target on Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Benchmark raised their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.8 %

Union Pacific stock traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $232.07. The stock had a trading volume of 755,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,299,452. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $190.37 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.39.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.71%.

Union Pacific 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.