New England Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

New England Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 17,800 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,387,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 272.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $379,689,000 after buying an additional 1,227,318 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,012,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,625 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 19,878.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 896,040 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $220,856,000 after purchasing an additional 891,555 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in Union Pacific by 2,025.4% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 546,236 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $134,636,000 after buying an additional 520,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Union Pacific by 7.6% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,812,689,000 after buying an additional 518,985 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI lowered Union Pacific from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered Union Pacific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE UNP traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $233.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,666,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,308,451. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $216.92 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The company has a market capitalization of $141.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm's 50 day moving average is $241.53 and its 200 day moving average is $238.60.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.