American International Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

American International Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 158,120 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $38,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at $1,832,127,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,478,649,000 after purchasing an additional 19,145 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,851,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,682,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,144 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,867,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,441,260,000 after purchasing an additional 125,522 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 26th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Union Pacific in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.70.

Union Pacific Price Performance

NYSE UNP traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $222.10. 2,130,498 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,435,945. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.73. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $199.06 and a 1 year high of $258.66. 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 company has a market cap of $135.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.05.

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 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 business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

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.