Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Invests $140 Million in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 605,230 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $140,002,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SWAN Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2,575.0% during the 4th quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 107 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. High Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $289.00 price target (up from $273.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,492,157.40. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 27,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.76, for a total transaction of $7,442,691.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 61,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,605,079.52. This represents a 30.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 34,377 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,221 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE UNP opened at $267.54 on Wednesday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $210.84 and a 12 month high of $279.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.15 and a 200-day moving average of $249.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.97.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.47%.

Union Pacific Company Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.