Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Buys 5,416 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 179.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,427 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNP. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,812,689,000 after acquiring an additional 518,985 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,856,266 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,438,417,000 after purchasing an additional 113,946 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 237,083 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Union Pacific by 8.3% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,218,730 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $954,530,000 after buying an additional 322,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Union Pacific by 35.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,012,857,000 after buying an additional 1,073,625 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $244.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $148.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $199.33 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $245.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.95.

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, 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 2.20%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.