Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Cuts Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 48.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,841 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 42,638 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $11,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNP. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,788,337 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $6,109,829,000 after purchasing an additional 217,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,813,686 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,146,451,000 after purchasing an additional 182,620 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,285,585 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,549,271,000 after purchasing an additional 143,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,970,669 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,350,924,000 after purchasing an additional 124,571 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNP shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Union Pacific from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Union Pacific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.80.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP stock traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $233.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,242,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,308. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $238.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.30. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $218.55 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

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

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Union Pacific's payout ratio is 49.22%.

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.