6,415 Shares in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP Bought by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. has acquired a new stake in Union Pacific Corporation, purchasing 6,415 shares valued at approximately $1.52 million during the first quarter of the year.
• Union Pacific recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.03, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.84 and demonstrating a 28.43% net margin for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.38 per share, representing a 2.5% yield, up from the previous dividend of $1.34.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,415 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,515,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Union Pacific by 2.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,678,575,000 after purchasing an additional 142,732 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Union Pacific by 5.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,641,715,000 after purchasing an additional 354,463 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Union Pacific by 1.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,206,191,000 after purchasing an additional 86,292 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 35.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Union Pacific by 10.8% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,626,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,092,893,000 after purchasing an additional 452,788 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on UNP. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $257.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Argus cut Union Pacific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded down $1.18 on Wednesday, hitting $214.87. The company had a trading volume of 5,004,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,459,492. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $225.75 and a 200-day moving average of $226.53.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.The business had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.96%.

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.