Busey Bank Reduces Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Busey Bank lessened its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,469 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 246 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Union Pacific by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after purchasing an additional 143,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after purchasing an additional 31,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.30.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE UNP opened at $249.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $151.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $234.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.94. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Company 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.