Ledyard National Bank Has $1.61 Million Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Ledyard National Bank increased its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,536 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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 period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 62.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,119,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119,382 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Union Pacific by 18.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,003,423 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,018,847,000 after purchasing an additional 792,896 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 108.9% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $840,702,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UNP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.78.

Insider Activity

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 value of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded down $1.81 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $240.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,730,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,324,740. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.71 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The company has a market capitalization of $147.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.56.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

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

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.