Persium Advisors LLC Invests $690,000 in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Persium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,983 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.8% in the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 52,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,492,000 after acquiring an additional 4,707 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.8% in the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 281,036 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $66,428,000 after acquiring an additional 7,759 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 39.8% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 65,826 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $15,559,000 after acquiring an additional 18,742 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 15.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 135,188 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,955,000 after acquiring an additional 17,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the third quarter valued at approximately $802,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $280.00 price target on Union Pacific in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 price target on Union Pacific and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $285.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Union Pacific from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.18.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.3%

Union Pacific stock opened at $245.37 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Corporation has a twelve month low of $204.66 and a twelve month high of $268.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by ($0.06). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 40.89% and a net margin of 29.12%.The company had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.93, for a total transaction of $469,625.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Profile

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.