Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Purchases 501 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 22.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,697 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNP. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific during the first quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 211.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Union Pacific during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Up 1.7 %

UNP stock traded up $4.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $256.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,386,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,260,287. The firm has a market cap of $156.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $237.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.18. Union Pacific Co. has a 52-week low of $199.33 and a 52-week high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $281.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $276.00 to $238.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

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.