Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC Takes $1.20 Million Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,425 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,330,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,090,674,000 after buying an additional 1,082,285 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,136,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,658,142,000 after acquiring an additional 9,655,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,360,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,552,550,000 after purchasing an additional 296,814 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,463,071 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,509,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084,808 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,636,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,922,971,000 after purchasing an additional 602,647 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $301.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $305.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $317.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total transaction of $789,504.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,447.52. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of UNP stock opened at $309.83 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 52-week low of $210.84 and a 52-week high of $315.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.31.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 38.46% and a net margin of 28.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.99%.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.