Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,175 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,289 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $40,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after buying an additional 217,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after acquiring an additional 182,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,880,701,000 after acquiring an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after acquiring an additional 143,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.35.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.1 %

UNP stock opened at $236.73 on Wednesday. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $143.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $233.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 49.22%.

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.