Wealthspire Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 95.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,101 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,906 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,742 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 938,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $230,609,000 after purchasing an additional 17,629 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,515 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 6,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,688,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNP shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Union Pacific in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.61.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock traded up $3.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $245.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,731,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,287,521. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $190.71 and a one year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $242.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.79. The firm has a market cap of $150.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 44.34% and a net margin of 26.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

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.