Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 2,512 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,605 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,512 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $6,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 10.4% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 3.3% during the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in Union Pacific during the third quarter worth approximately $227,000. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 0.4% during the third quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 34,234 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,971,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in Union Pacific by 130.8% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 7,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 4,198 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.61.

Union Pacific Price Performance

NYSE UNP traded up $2.67 on Friday, hitting $240.36. 2,174,714 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,177,795. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $242.95 and a 200-day moving average of $236.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $190.71 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $146.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

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

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.