American Trust Cuts Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

American Trust lessened its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,136 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 474 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 6,487 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,817 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,280 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth about $1,361,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In related news, insider Whited Elizabeth 3,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Whited Elizabeth 3,553 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP traded down $4.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $239.97. 2,114,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,386,958. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.05. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $199.33 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The company has a market cap of $146.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $230.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.22.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $281.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.79.

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.