Golden State Equity Partners Acquires 323 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,025 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sonen Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Heritage Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,499 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 22,157 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of UNP opened at $242.79 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $190.45 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The company has a market cap of $148.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.15.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.08 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.78.

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.