Principle Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,160 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third 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. grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% in the 3rd 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 raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,237,356,000 after acquiring an additional 31,899 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital lowered Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE UNP opened at $244.35 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $235.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

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.