Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,729 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 5.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 10.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at about $988,822,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $232.72 on Thursday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $224.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.57. The firm has a market cap of $138.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 47.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.08.

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.