Jennison Associates LLC Sells 180,534 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 39.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 273,305 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 180,534 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $67,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in Union Pacific by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 8,913 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after buying an additional 3,454 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Union Pacific by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,908 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $56,716,000 after buying an additional 23,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 116,989 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,735,000 after buying an additional 21,746 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.00.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $234.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $143.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $245.03 and a 200 day moving average of $234.40. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.37 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.71%.

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.