SlateStone Wealth LLC Acquires 573 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,048 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,857 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,560 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its position in Union Pacific by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 3,482 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,527 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 3,744 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related 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 sale, the president now directly 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 hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.00.

Union Pacific Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded down $4.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $231.31. 222,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,279,631. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.81. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $190.37 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $141.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $244.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.64.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 26.45%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. Union Pacific’s quarterly 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend 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.