HTLF Bank Invests $711,000 in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

HTLF Bank bought a new position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,893 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 90,390.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,697,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,836,353,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth about $1,276,498,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 108.9% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $840,702,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151,893 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,119,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119,382 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 638.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,014,327 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $550,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,490 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNP shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.48.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $232.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $190.37 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.73.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.71%.

Union Pacific Profile

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.