Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Bought by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 109.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,892 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,075 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,832,127,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $293,162,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 65.5% during the third 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 period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 331.7% during the fourth 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 period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eight investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.92.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $226.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,492,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,420,808. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.93. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $199.33 and a one year high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $138.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

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.