waypoint wealth counsel Acquires New Position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

waypoint wealth counsel bought a new position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 949 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Union Pacific by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,312,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,880,701,000 after purchasing an additional 106,996 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 7.6% in the 1st 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,970,669 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,350,924,000 after buying an additional 124,571 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,856,266 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,438,417,000 after acquiring an additional 113,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,396,974 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,081,348,000 after acquiring an additional 237,083 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNP shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI downgraded Union Pacific from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $247.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on Union Pacific from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Union Pacific from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.32.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.7 %

UNP traded down $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $238.86. 2,137,949 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,288,305. 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 market cap of $145.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.24 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.81.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.62% and a net margin of 26.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is a boost from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio is 51.15%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $16,014,787.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.