Essex LLC Sells 110 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Essex LLC reduced its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,297 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNP. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, IMA Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were 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 is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.48.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $234.96. 486,448 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,291,995. The firm has a market cap of $143.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $247.31 and its 200 day moving average is $232.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $190.37 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.98 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.71%.

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.