New Vernon Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• New Vernon Investment Management LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Union Pacific Corporation, selling 43,118 shares to own only 2,985 shares, which now represents about 0.9% of its total holdings.
• Union Pacific recently reported quarterly earnings of $3.03 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $6.15 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 2.4%.
• The company will increase its quarterly dividend to $1.38 per share, marking a positive change from its previous dividend, with a current yield of 2.5%.

New Vernon Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 93.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,985 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 43,118 shares during the quarter. Union Pacific accounts for 0.9% of New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 102,213 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $23,309,000 after buying an additional 2,807 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $781,000. LGT Group Foundation increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 9.7% in the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 5,398 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at approximately $988,822,000. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 6.2% in the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,133,000 after buying an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of UNP stock traded up $0.50 on Thursday, hitting $222.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,296,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,431,031. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.03. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The company's 50 day moving average price is $226.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.48.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Argus lowered Union Pacific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays lowered Union Pacific from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.