Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) Shares Acquired by Capital Wealth Planning LLC

Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 360.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,709 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 19,341 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $5,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Union Pacific by 7.6% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,812,689,000 after buying an additional 518,985 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,856,266 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,438,417,000 after buying an additional 113,946 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Union Pacific by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,504,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,351,937,000 after buying an additional 364,029 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Union Pacific by 5.7% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,396,974 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,081,348,000 after buying an additional 237,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Union Pacific by 35.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,012,857,000 after buying an additional 1,073,625 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP stock opened at $249.12 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.08. Union Pacific Co. has a fifty-two week low of $199.33 and a fifty-two week high of $258.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 51.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total value of $875,887.68. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNP shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.79.

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.