Primecap Management Co. CA Reduces Position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation by 0.9%, owning approximately 1.48 million shares valued at about $350.5 million.
• Union Pacific recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.38 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.5%, representing a boost from the previous dividend of $1.34.
• Analyst ratings for Union Pacific include 14 buy ratings and two strong buy ratings, with a consensus target price of $258.21, reflecting positive sentiment towards the company's performance.

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,483,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 13,600 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.25% of Union Pacific worth $350,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,370,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,587,763,000 after purchasing an additional 920,414 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,594,882 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,503,899,000 after purchasing an additional 105,111 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 35.2% in 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 valued at $1,133,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,643 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,372,636 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $997,136,000 after purchasing an additional 89,199 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNP. Bank of America upped their target price on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.21.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE UNP traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,345,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,336,163. The company has a market capitalization of $131.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1-year low of $204.66 and a 1-year 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $227.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.48.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. The company's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a boost 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific's payout ratio is presently 46.57%.

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.