Rhumbline Advisers Sells 64,853 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,127,272 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 64,853 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Union Pacific were worth $259,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,105,382 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,678,575,000 after purchasing an additional 142,732 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Union Pacific by 5.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,949,345 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,641,715,000 after purchasing an additional 354,463 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Union Pacific by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,105,784 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,206,191,000 after purchasing an additional 86,292 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Union Pacific by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,626,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,092,893,000 after buying an additional 452,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at about $988,822,000. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays downgraded Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $244.00 to $238.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.63.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $226.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $134.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $256.84.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.09. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.23% and a net margin of 28.73%.The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

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.