National Bank of Canada FI Decreases Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 642,607 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 103,048 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.11% of Union Pacific worth $156,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,478,649,000 after buying an additional 19,145 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 4.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,803,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,385,457,000 after purchasing an additional 285,988 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,867,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,441,260,000 after purchasing an additional 125,522 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 62.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,119,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,003,423 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,018,847,000 after buying an additional 792,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark raised their target price on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $248.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.61.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.1 %

UNP stock traded up $2.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $240.36. 2,174,714 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,177,795. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $242.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.98. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $190.71 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.