Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 83 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,132 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,088,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Union Pacific by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 126,369 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,078,000 after buying an additional 20,173 shares during the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP lifted its position in Union Pacific by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 20,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,525,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Union Pacific during the 3rd quarter worth about $834,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,378,000. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,014,787.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Daiwa America lowered Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Loop Capital cut 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 report on Monday, June 17th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.32.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $237.56 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $199.97 and a twelve month high of $258.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.68.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. Union Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were 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 was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. 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.