Hills Bank & Trust Co Lowers Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,616 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNP. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 111.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 129 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 64,960 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.5 %

UNP opened at $237.71 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $218.55 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $242.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.77.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.00.

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.