Westfuller Advisors LLC Takes $813,000 Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Key Points

• Westfuller Advisors LLC has taken a new position in Union Pacific Corporation by purchasing 3,534 shares valued at approximately $813,000.
• Several institutions, including Northern Trust Corp and Price T Rowe Associates, have increased their stakes in Union Pacific, which is now approximately 80.38% owned by institutional investors.
• Union Pacific has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, reflecting a slight increase from the previous dividend and a yield of 2.5%.

Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,534 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,678,575,000 after buying an additional 142,732 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,641,715,000 after buying an additional 354,463 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,206,191,000 after buying an additional 86,292 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,626,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,092,893,000 after buying an additional 452,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $988,822,000. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNP shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Union Pacific from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Union Pacific from $257.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised Union Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $251.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $259.38.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of UNP opened at $220.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. Union Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $204.66 and a one year high of $256.84. The stock's fifty day moving average is $222.66 and its 200-day moving average is $225.01.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current 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 positive change 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 47.96%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.