Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Stock Holdings Lowered by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,575 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 5,437 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $8,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth about $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,035,905,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $3,282,305,000 after buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Union Pacific by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,146,990 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $489,600,000 after acquiring an additional 918,248 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,322,450 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,795,993,000 after acquiring an additional 625,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,240,000. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig V. Richardson sold 6,495 shares of Union Pacific 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,632,388. This represents a 19.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded up $3.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $220.26. The stock had a trading volume of 4,545,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,539,496. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

Union Pacific Company 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.