Buffington Mohr McNeal Acquires 458 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,823 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,109,829,000 after acquiring an additional 217,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,795,993,000 after purchasing an additional 625,492 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,549,271,000 after purchasing an additional 143,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,020,107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,237,356,000 after buying an additional 31,899 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock opened at $254.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $154.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $234.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.63. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $218.55 and a 12 month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 27.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 49.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on UNP. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.30.

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.