Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,002 Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,002 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 108.9% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $840,702,000 after buying an additional 2,151,893 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,119,295,000 after buying an additional 2,119,382 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,496 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $478,224,000 after buying an additional 929,495 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 331.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,143,298 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $280,817,000 after buying an additional 878,490 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 20,736.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 803,677 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $197,399,000 after buying an additional 799,820 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.00.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $234.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $245.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.40. The stock has a market cap of $143.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $190.37 and a 1-year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.