AGF Management Ltd. Grows Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,762 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,277 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $10,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 157,396 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,893,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,936,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital downgraded Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.00.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $237.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $218.55 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $241.63 and its 200-day moving average is $240.91.

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

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at $16,240,000. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.