West Branch Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

West Branch Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,619 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 499 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth about $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth about $1,035,905,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 27,502.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,491,151 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $588,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,126 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,282,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,370,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNP. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus raised Union Pacific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.74.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.0%

Union Pacific stock opened at $223.17 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $204.66 and a twelve month high of $258.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $220.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.64. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $133.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.11 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.29%.

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.