Ballast Inc. Has $1.31 Million Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Ballast Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 94.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,325 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 90,390.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,697,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,836,353,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $1,276,498,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 108.9% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $840,702,000 after buying an additional 2,151,893 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 62.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,119,295,000 after buying an additional 2,119,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 638.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,014,327 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $550,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNP. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.33.

Insider Activity

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $245.93 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $247.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $190.37 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.71%.

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.