Gradient Investments LLC Has $90,000 Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 49.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 399 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $90,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 211.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $281.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.79.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.3 %

UNP stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $244.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,951,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,282,628. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $199.33 and a 52 week high of $258.66. The company has a market cap of $148.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $232.77 and a 200 day moving average of $239.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.12 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

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.