Waverly Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,356 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,606 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $5,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,035,905,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,282,305,000 after buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,370,559,000 after buying an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth approximately $273,361,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.50.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.5%

Union Pacific stock opened at $228.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $136.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $223.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.63.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 27.82%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.29%.

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.