Pictet North America Advisors SA Reduces Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Pictet North America Advisors SA reduced its stake in Union Pacific Corporation by 12.1% during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 14,877 shares valued at approximately $3.42 million.
• Union Pacific's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.03, exceeding estimates, and a quarterly revenue increase of 2.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, which reflects a 2.4% dividend yield and an annualized payout of $5.52.

Pictet North America Advisors SA lessened its stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 12.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,877 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,051 shares during the quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $3,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at $988,822,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 27,502.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,491,151 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $588,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,126 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,699,109 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $873,878,000 after acquiring an additional 850,025 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 61,054.6% during the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 625,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $147,650,000 after acquiring an additional 623,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $127,825,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Union Pacific Trading Up 2.3%

Union Pacific stock opened at $225.78 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $222.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.70. The firm has a market cap of $133.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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 an increase from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Union Pacific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $260.00 to $257.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.38.

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.

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