Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Has $4.13 Million Stock Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lowered its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Union Pacific makes up 1.3% of Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $4,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,458 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 246.5% during the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 33,948 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $7,742,000 after purchasing an additional 24,150 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 13,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,800 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $10,444,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,890,942 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $431,210,000 after purchasing an additional 74,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNP. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.00.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.5 %

UNP opened at $237.71 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $218.55 and a 1-year high of $258.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $143.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $242.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.77.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

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.