Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Shares Sold by Philadelphia Trust Co.

Philadelphia Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,740 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,370,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,587,763,000 after purchasing an additional 920,414 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,594,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,503,899,000 after purchasing an additional 105,111 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,968,658 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,643 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,372,636 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $997,136,000 after purchasing an additional 89,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays downgraded shares of Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.21.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $220.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.57. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12-month low of $204.66 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $130.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

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.