Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 6,399 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,512,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,282,305,000 after buying an additional 1,616,895 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,395,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,370,559,000 after buying an additional 1,298,178 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,927,377,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,686,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,752,804,000 after purchasing an additional 363,937 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,587,763,000 after purchasing an additional 920,414 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $233.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12-month low of $204.66 and a 12-month high of $258.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $226.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.18.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.03). Union Pacific had a net margin of 27.76% and a return on equity of 40.80%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 48.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNP shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $271.00 price target (up previously from $267.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded Union Pacific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.63.

Union Pacific Profile

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.