Saxon Interests Inc. Sells 1,542 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Saxon Interests Inc. reduced its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 40.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,250 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the quarter. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 90,390.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,697,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,836,353,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,276,498,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 8,260,185 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,662,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,605,266 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,693,943 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,347,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,841 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 638.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,014,327 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $550,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,490 shares in the last quarter. 77.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on UNP. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $216.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Atlantic Securities cut shares of Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Union Pacific from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $235.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.97.

Union Pacific Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of UNP traded down $2.81 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $210.34. 501,777 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,935,997. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $220.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.44. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $183.69 and a 12 month high of $240.48. The stock has a market cap of $128.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.11.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.75 by ($0.18). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.18% and a return on equity of 55.03%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.45%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 8,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.43, for a total transaction of $1,935,141.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,355,628.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Union Pacific news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.83, for a total transaction of $222,830.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,144,399.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 8,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.43, for a total value of $1,935,141.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,355,628.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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, and other agricultural users; petroleum, and liquid petroleum gases; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.