Opes Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Opes Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,069 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ADE LLC purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $226,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,497 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 275,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $67,599,000 after buying an additional 10,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 105,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,959,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on UNP. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.48.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNP traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $229.81. 1,570,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,303,281. The firm has a market cap of $140.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.55. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $190.37 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.