Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,400,236 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Union Pacific worth $330,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $1,927,377,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at $1,035,905,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $588,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,126 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $3,282,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in 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 worth $2,370,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock traded up $1.97 on Friday, hitting $231.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,430,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,710,642. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.73. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.70. The company has a market capitalization of $138.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.76% and a return on equity of 40.80%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Union Pacific's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Union Pacific's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $259.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Union Pacific from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.39.

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.