FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Increases Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,368 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,880,701,000 after acquiring an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Price Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $233.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.98 and a 200 day moving average of $238.79. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $218.55 and a 52-week high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.51 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued 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 payout ratio is 49.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on UNP. Citigroup upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.35.

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.