Connecticut Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,430 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TCG Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 2,461 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co raised its stake in Union Pacific by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 9,874 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,311 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Union Pacific by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 2,294 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNP. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $248.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.61.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP traded up $2.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $240.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,174,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,177,795. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $190.71 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $242.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.98. The company has a market capitalization of $146.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.