Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Buys 2,996 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,458,722 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $358,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its position in Union Pacific by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 11,530 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. Saxon Interests Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 2,476 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 5,686 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.9 %

Union Pacific stock traded up $2.05 on Wednesday, hitting $227.55. 306,373 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,288,383. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $138.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.20. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $199.33 and a 1 year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNP. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.92.

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.