Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Boosts Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 657 shares during the quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the third 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd 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 increased its stake in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $134,636,000 after purchasing an additional 520,536 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 170.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 736,246 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $181,470,000 after purchasing an additional 464,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Union Pacific by 35.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 323,525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Union Pacific from $288.00 to $283.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.30.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP stock opened at $254.19 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.63. The company has a market capitalization of $154.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend 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.