Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $1.64 Billion Stock Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Union Pacific Corporation to approximately $1.64 billion by acquiring an additional 354,463 shares in the first quarter, representing a 5.4% rise in ownership.
• Union Pacific also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.38 per share, up from the previous $1.34, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Analysts have rated Union Pacific with a consensus of "Moderate Buy", with one analyst suggesting a "Strong Buy" rating and average price target predictions ranging around $258.21.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 354,463 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 1.16% of Union Pacific worth $1,641,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the first quarter worth about $988,822,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific by 27,502.8% during the 1st 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 raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 35.2% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 1,294,643 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,361,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,587,763,000 after buying an additional 920,414 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNP. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Baird R W raised Union Pacific to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.21.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $225.6890 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $226.91 and a 200-day moving average of $229.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.Union Pacific's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.57%.

Union Pacific Company 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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