West Michigan Advisors LLC Purchases 236 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,379 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $1,636,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. This trade represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,000. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:UNP opened at $246.94 on Friday. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $218.55 and a 52 week high of $258.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $239.46 and a 200 day moving average of $240.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 EPS 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 previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

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.