Bailard Inc. Sells 179 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Bailard Inc. cut its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,322 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $3,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,125 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 12,245 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,771,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Addison Capital Co grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 3,828 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,340,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.79.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE UNP opened at $248.08 on Tuesday. 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 current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $151.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $235.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.92.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific 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.