Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,147 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNP. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $220,856,000 after purchasing an additional 891,555 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $134,636,000 after acquiring an additional 520,536 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 170.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $181,470,000 after acquiring an additional 464,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,226,100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $279,600,000 after acquiring an additional 323,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Down 2.0 %

Union Pacific stock opened at $249.45 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $151.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.81.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

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.