Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 25.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 10,646 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $11,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 3.2% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 124,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,212,000 after buying an additional 3,812 shares in the last quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 3.7% during the second quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,276 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 56.8% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 96,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $21,866,000 after purchasing an additional 34,993 shares in the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 8.4% during the second quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 19,373 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 186.4% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 704,769 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $159,461,000 after purchasing an additional 458,664 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNP shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Loop Capital cut shares of Union Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $276.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $267.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,014,787.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

NYSE:UNP opened at $245.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $245.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.99. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $199.33 and a 1-year high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. Analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 51.15%.

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.