Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,444 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 272.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $379,689,000 after buying an additional 1,227,318 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,012,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,625 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $220,856,000 after acquiring an additional 891,555 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $134,636,000 after purchasing an additional 520,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,812,689,000 after buying an additional 518,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE UNP opened at $242.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.53. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $208.14 and a one year high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $147.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.15.

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.