ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Purchases 105 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,311 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 39.3% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 87,905 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $21,596,000 after purchasing an additional 28,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 18,512 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,547,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $240.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,174,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,177,795. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $190.71 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $242.95 and its 200-day moving average is $235.98. The company has a market capitalization of $146.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on UNP. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.61.

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.