Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,597 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 828 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $9,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 39.3% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 87,905 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,596,000 after buying an additional 28,052 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $606,000. EPG Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 11.3% during the third quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 85,685 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $17,448,000 after acquiring an additional 9,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

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 on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $239.00 to $237.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.67.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $244.63 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $247.48 and a 200-day moving average of $230.40. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $190.37 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.71%.

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.