Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $52.30 Million Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,363 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $52,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 120,394 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,240,000 after buying an additional 14,388 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 179.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 8,427 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 5,416 shares in the last quarter. Sagefield Capital LP raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 5.1% during the second quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 30,310 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 272.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $379,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 250,193 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $56,609,000 after purchasing an additional 39,066 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Union Pacific from $262.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $236.73 on Wednesday. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $218.55 and a 12 month high of $258.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $233.67 and a 200-day moving average of $239.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $143.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.