Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 806 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,229 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 806 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,832,127,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 23.1% during the fourth 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,867,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,441,260,000 after buying an additional 125,522 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,504,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,351,937,000 after buying an additional 364,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,159,891 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,021,753,000 after buying an additional 31,316 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 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 increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Loop Capital cut Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.54.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $243.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,179,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,296,524. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.01. The stock has a market cap of $148.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $199.33 and a 52-week high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.14 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 51.15%.

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.