Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Grows Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,297 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,165 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $4,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Searle & CO. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 14,308 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,514,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 45,192 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,100,000 after acquiring an additional 12,394 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 9,435 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 13,489 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.3 %

UNP opened at $234.36 on Thursday. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $190.71 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $243.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.76. The company has a market cap of $142.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNP. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.