E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 823 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service raised its stake in Union Pacific by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 938,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $230,609,000 after purchasing an additional 17,629 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,515 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its holdings in Union Pacific by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 6,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Union Pacific by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 88,197 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,665,000 after purchasing an additional 27,492 shares during the period. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,170,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.61.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP opened at $248.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.85. Union Pacific Co. has a 1 year low of $190.71 and a 1 year high of $258.66. The company has a market capitalization of $151.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. Union Pacific’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.21 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

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.