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

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,411 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,630 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,558,000 after buying an additional 4,846 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 15,069 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,701,000 after buying an additional 7,727 shares during the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 74,904 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $18,398,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNP. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital lowered Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP traded down $1.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $236.84. 1,938,909 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,306,877. The company has a market capitalization of $144.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.22. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $199.33 and a 1-year high of $258.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. Union Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Whited Elizabeth 3,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.