Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 106 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,051 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,035,905,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,146,990 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $489,600,000 after purchasing an additional 918,248 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 9.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,795,993,000 after buying an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 33,228.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 504,258 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $114,991,000 after buying an additional 502,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $1,636,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.7 %

UNP stock opened at $232.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.55 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.47. The company has a market cap of $140.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.76.

About Union Pacific

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.