Torray Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

Torray Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 21.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 4,473 shares during the quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $3,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 worth $2,370,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,178 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,587,763,000 after buying an additional 920,414 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Union Pacific by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,594,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,503,899,000 after acquiring an additional 105,111 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Union Pacific by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,439,861 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,468,546,000 after acquiring an additional 285,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,968,658 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,643 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNP. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $259.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.21.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of UNP opened at $225.46 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $204.66 and a 1 year high of $258.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.05.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.19. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.43% and a return on equity of 41.73%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.57%.

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.