Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires 2,407 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,375 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $3,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,146,451,000 after buying an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after buying an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James increased their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $233.99 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $141.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.04.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.22%.

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.