Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 639 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 86,734 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 639 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $20,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $1,035,905,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 27,502.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,491,151 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $588,510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482,126 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,282,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,370,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Argus raised shares of Union Pacific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.74.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $223.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $220.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.64. The stock has a market cap of $133.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.29%.

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.