Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 3,080 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in Union Pacific Corporation by 8.8%, selling 3,080 shares and now holding 32,067 shares worth approximately $7.575 million.
• Union Pacific recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38, up from $1.34, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Brokerages have increased target price estimates for Union Pacific, with Jefferies raising their target from $250 to $285 and Wells Fargo from $250 to $260, reflecting growing positive sentiment.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lowered its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,067 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,080 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $7,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Union Pacific by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,537 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 387.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 422,485 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $96,343,000 after purchasing an additional 335,855 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 61,500 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $14,024,000 after buying an additional 32,500 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 645.2% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 335,600 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $73,907,000 after buying an additional 290,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $222.27. 2,345,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,336,163. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1-year low of $204.66 and a 1-year high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. Union Pacific's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a boost from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Union Pacific's payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $259.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup cut Union Pacific from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.21.

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.