Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,052 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 13,020 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.05% of Union Pacific worth $81,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.78.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,255,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,120,671. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $190.45 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company has a market cap of $148.13 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $244.27 and a 200-day moving average of $235.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.08 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

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

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.