Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 676 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,941 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 676 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $21,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,832,127,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,851,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,682,931,000 after buying an additional 1,285,144 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $293,162,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,496 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $478,224,000 after buying an additional 929,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 331.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,143,298 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $280,817,000 after buying an additional 878,490 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.2 %

Union Pacific stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $224.31. The stock had a trading volume of 429,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,295,376. The company has a market capitalization of $136.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $233.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.32. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $199.33 and a one year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. Union Pacific’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNP shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $248.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.92.

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.