Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 880,466 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 47,526 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Union Pacific worth $200,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Monument Capital Management increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,120 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,765 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,139,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Union Pacific by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 4,970 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,960 shares in the company, valued at $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,636,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,632,388. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $263.00 to $252.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $261.40.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE UNP traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $245.43. 3,292,544 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,700,197. The company has a market cap of $148.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $218.55 and a one year high of $258.66. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $237.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.69.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.