Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Holdings Lowered by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its stake in Union Pacific Corporation by 9.1%, now holding 773,177 shares, which makes up approximately 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Union Pacific recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.34 to $1.38 per share, representing a dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Research analysts have mixed views on Union Pacific, with Citigroup and Barclays downgrading their ratings, while BMO Capital Markets raised its price target from $270.00 to $277.00.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lowered its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 773,177 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 77,123 shares during the quarter. Union Pacific comprises approximately 0.8% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.13% of Union Pacific worth $182,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at about $988,822,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 27,502.8% in the first 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 14.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 35.2% in 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 valued at $1,133,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,361,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNP. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised Union Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Union Pacific from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $270.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $221.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,245,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,348,882. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.99. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52 week low of $204.66 and a 52 week high of $258.07. The stock has a market cap of $131.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. Union Pacific's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.96%.

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.