Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $5.18 Million Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Union Pacific Corporation by 10% during the first quarter, owning 22,301 shares valued at approximately $5.18 million.
• Union Pacific reported $3.03 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the expected $2.84 and indicating a 2.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company's quarterly dividend was increased from $1.34 to $1.38 per share, marking a dividend yield of 2.4% with a payout ratio of 46.57%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,301 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,485 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $5,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNP. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the first quarter worth $988,822,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 27,502.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,491,151 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $588,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,126 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,133,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,643 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth $273,361,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,587,763,000 after purchasing an additional 920,414 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $225.6890 on Thursday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12-month low of $204.66 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $226.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.03.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.57%.

About Union Pacific

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.

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