Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,649 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 9,475 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $7,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 16.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 43,071 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $10,616,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 103.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,581 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $8,770,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Union Pacific during the third quarter worth about $16,680,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Union Pacific by 124.1% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 52,963 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $13,054,000 after acquiring an additional 29,330 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.00.

Union Pacific Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE UNP opened at $213.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $204.66 and a 52 week high of $258.07. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $231.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.66. The firm has a market cap of $127.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.79 by ($0.09). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.11 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.29%.

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.

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