Old North State Trust LLC Increases Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Old North State Trust LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,170 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after buying an additional 106,996 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 7.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 518,985 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Union Pacific by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,970,669 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,350,924,000 after purchasing an additional 124,571 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during 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 buying an additional 113,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 5.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.4 %

UNP opened at $244.22 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $245.80 and its 200 day moving average is $238.82. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $199.33 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $149.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.05. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.34 per share. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $254.00 to $247.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.11.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

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 stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.