Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 485,632 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 47,422 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $132,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,329,262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $13,724,045,000 after purchasing an additional 659,378 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,330,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,090,674,000 after buying an additional 1,082,285 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,136,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,658,142,000 after buying an additional 9,655,306 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,360,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,552,550,000 after buying an additional 296,814 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Union Pacific by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,463,071 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,509,030,000 after buying an additional 2,084,808 shares during the period. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE UNP opened at $300.06 on Tuesday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $210.84 and a 12 month high of $315.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $178.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $283.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.84.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.85% and a return on equity of 38.46%. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 44.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total value of $789,504.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,447.52. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Union Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Union Pacific from $305.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Union Pacific from $311.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.89.

Union Pacific Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two?thirds of the United States.