LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,371,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,864 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $317,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after acquiring an additional 105,664 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (up from $260.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $289.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.21.

Union Pacific Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of UNP stock opened at $268.84 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $210.84 and a 1 year high of $279.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $159.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 45.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total value of $789,504.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,492,157.40. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.