Macquarie Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Macquarie Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 371,641 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 231,445 shares during the quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Union Pacific worth $85,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNP. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 40.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 10.0% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 7.4% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $351,660,000 after buying an additional 105,664 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,492,157.40. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total transaction of $789,504.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of UNP stock opened at $272.37 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $262.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $161.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.97. Union Pacific Corporation has a twelve month low of $210.84 and a twelve month high of $279.70.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 45.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNP shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $307.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.21.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.