Tredje AP fonden Acquires 30,331 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden increased its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, owning 286,460 shares valued at approximately $67.67 million.
• Union Pacific Corporation recently announced a dividend increase to $1.38 per share, reflecting a 2.47% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 47.96%.
• The company's Q2 earnings beat analysts' expectations with earnings per share of $3.03, up from $2.74 in the previous year, indicating a 2.4% revenue growth year-over-year.

Tredje AP fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,460 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 30,331 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $67,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 27,502.8% in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,282,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616,895 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted 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 valued at $2,370,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at $273,361,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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 research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $259.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens reduced their price target on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays cut Union Pacific from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.21.

Union Pacific Price Performance

UNP stock traded down $2.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $219.31. 4,637,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,972,172. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $227.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.93. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52 week low of $204.66 and a 52 week high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This is a boost from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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.