Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 48,203 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has decreased its stake in Union Pacific Corporation by 26.4% during the first quarter, leaving them with 134,429 shares valued at approximately $31.76 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.34 to $1.38, reflecting a positive change and translating to an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Union Pacific's earnings for the last quarter exceeded estimates, reporting $3.03 EPS compared to the consensus expectation of $2.84, alongside a revenue increase of 2.4% year-over-year.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,429 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 48,203 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Union Pacific were worth $31,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNP. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Union Pacific by 14.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company's stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP traded up $2.9350 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $223.0150. 3,631,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,351,406. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1-year low of $204.66 and a 1-year high of $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $132.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day moving average is $226.97 and its 200 day moving average is $229.09.

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

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company 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 positive change from Union Pacific's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific's payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered shares of Union Pacific from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on Union Pacific from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup cut Union Pacific from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $257.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.21.

About Union Pacific

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.