Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Has $1.98 Million Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,699 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $1,035,905,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,146,990 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $489,600,000 after buying an additional 918,248 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 33,228.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 504,258 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $114,991,000 after acquiring an additional 502,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,226,100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $279,600,000 after acquiring an additional 323,525 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.7 %

UNP stock opened at $234.67 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.31. The company has a market capitalization of $141.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.00.

Union Pacific Company 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.