Ieq Capital LLC Purchases 444 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $6,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 86.8% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter valued at $241,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,604 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,078,000 after purchasing an additional 7,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on UNP. Daiwa America downgraded Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, July 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $245.39 on Friday. 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 $149.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.45 and its 200-day moving average is $239.17. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $199.33 and a one year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued 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 is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

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.