PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,243,776 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 31,775 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $287,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 40.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 10.0% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 7.4% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after buying an additional 105,664 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total value of $7,442,691.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,605,079.52. This represents a 30.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.93, for a total value of $469,625.07. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,386 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,716. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 target price on Union Pacific and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price (up from $278.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $253.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $289.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.47.

Union Pacific Trading Down 1.4%

UNP opened at $271.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $161.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $252.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.02. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $210.84 and a one year high of $276.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 39.58% and a net margin of 29.20%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.53 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.47%.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.