Mather Group LLC. Raises Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 39.3% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 87,905 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,596,000 after acquiring an additional 28,052 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 18,512 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,547,000 after acquiring an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth about $606,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.78.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.6 %

UNP stock opened at $237.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $190.71 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.77. The firm has a market cap of $144.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.