Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Purchased by Perennial Investment Advisors LLC

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,637 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,851,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,682,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,144 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $293,162,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,012,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,625 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 115.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,070,123 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $262,844,000 after acquiring an additional 573,072 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,297,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.79.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE UNP opened at $253.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $199.33 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $244.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.08.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.