Clearstead Trust LLC Raises Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,465 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 19,145 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 valued at $1,385,457,000 after purchasing an additional 285,988 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,867,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,441,260,000 after buying an additional 125,522 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,119,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Union Pacific by 18.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,003,423 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,018,847,000 after acquiring an additional 792,896 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.61.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on 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 owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.1 %

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

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

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