Alpha Financial Partners LLC Acquires 50 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Alpha Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,453 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,812,689,000 after buying an additional 518,985 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,856,266 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,438,417,000 after acquiring an additional 113,946 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,504,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,351,937,000 after acquiring an additional 364,029 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 5.7% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,396,974 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,081,348,000 after acquiring an additional 237,083 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Union Pacific by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,012,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $252.51 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $199.33 and a one year high of $258.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.79.

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.