Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 1,680 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,662 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the period. Union Pacific comprises approximately 1.0% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $22,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,478,649,000 after acquiring an additional 19,145 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,803,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,385,457,000 after acquiring an additional 285,988 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,119,295,000 after buying an additional 2,119,382 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,003,423 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,018,847,000 after buying an additional 792,896 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 108.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $840,702,000 after buying an additional 2,151,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNP. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $231.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $243.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,017,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,317,354. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $148.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $190.45 and a 12-month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.71%.

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.