Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Invests $7.03 Million in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 25,833 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $7,027,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,329,262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $13,724,045,000 after purchasing an additional 659,378 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Union Pacific by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,330,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,090,674,000 after buying an additional 1,082,285 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,136,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,658,142,000 after buying an additional 9,655,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,360,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,552,550,000 after buying an additional 296,814 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,463,071 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,509,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084,808 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNP shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target (up from $286.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $339.00 target price (up from $289.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Union Pacific from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.89.

Insider Activity at Union Pacific

In related news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total value of $789,504.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $304.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $285.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.31. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $210.84 and a fifty-two week high of $315.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.15. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 38.46% and a net margin of 28.85%.The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 44.70%.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.