Union Pacific Corporation $UNP Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 439,096 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 35,217 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $101,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 42,386 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $9,805,000 after purchasing an additional 15,241 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,307,959 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $302,557,000 after buying an additional 35,377 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 135,960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,450,000 after buying an additional 78,095 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 7,464 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,727,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Circle Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,929 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Benchmark raised their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $307.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.21.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $272.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.97. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1-year low of $210.84 and a 1-year high of $279.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.69.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 39.58% and a net margin of 29.20%.The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors 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 yield of 2.0%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 45.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total value of $549,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares in the company, valued at $31,492,157.40. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.