Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Has $979,000 Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,132 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $979,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Union Pacific by 272.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,678,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $379,689,000 after buying an additional 1,227,318 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Union Pacific by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,118,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,012,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,625 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Union Pacific by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,370,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,812,689,000 after acquiring an additional 518,985 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 186.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 704,769 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $159,461,000 after purchasing an additional 458,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Union Pacific in the first quarter worth $96,945,000. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.59, for a total transaction of $875,887.68. Following the transaction, the president now owns 64,945 shares in the company, valued at $16,014,787.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of UNP stock opened at $237.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.08 and a 200-day moving average of $238.68. Union Pacific Co. has a one year low of $199.97 and a one year high of $258.66. The stock has a market cap of $144.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results 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. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is currently 51.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Daiwa America lowered Union Pacific from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Union Pacific from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.32.

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.